A Captain's Heart
by Charlie28
Summary: From the line of the captains of Erebor, Luna has come to help her king reclaim the lonely mountain and fulfil her family's duty by protecting the heirs of Durin. But when living with a company of dwarves and confronted to the perils of their journey, the girl's heart, grieved by a dark past, will be assigned yet another much more difficult task when met with a young dwarf prince.
1. Prologue

_**Hi Everyone, so this is my very first fan fiction! After reading quite a few, I decided it was time I wrote one myself and as I am a big fan of the Hobbit (and of Tolkien's books in general), here is a story taking place in that universe. I am writing in English but I am not an English native speaker nor do I live in an English-speaking country so please, I am doing my very best but if you see mistakes in my text, don't be mad at me, I will be more than happy to correct them!  
I will follow the movies now that I have seen all three of them.  
I do not own any of Tolkien's characters nor his universe, the only things that are mine are the characters Luna and her family.  
I hope you enjoy it, please let me know what you thought of it!**_

* * *

**Prologue**

"Here's the mail!" Frodo said, setting the letters down on his old uncle's desk.

Bilbo seemed upset as if he had just been interrupted while he was having one of those moments of fun that only he seemed to understand and that sometimes worried his nephew.

"Thank you" he replied quite dryly.

Frodo didn't look like he wanted to leave him be without having a look at what he was doing though which made his uncle sigh in exasperation. Why was this young hobbit always so curious and stubborn? Why did he have to be so much like him when he was younger?

"What's this?" he asked with a little smirk on his face, taking an old portrait of Bilbo.

"That's private, keep your sticky paws off!"

Just as Bilbo was taking the portrait from him to put it in the book he had been writing in, another smaller piece of parchment fell from underneath it to the ground and Frodo automatically picked it up before he could hide it away as well.  
It was another portrait of someone the young hobbit had never seen before. For a short instant, the words he had been about to tease his uncle with didn't pass his lips as he stared at the beautiful face of a young woman whose eyes managed to captivate him even though they were only drawings.

"Uncle, who is that?" he asked, the smile returning to his face."Was this your girlfriend?"

"Give that back to me! It's none of your business!"

Bilbo abruptly took the portrait to put it in his book with the other and Frodo tried to catch a glance of the pages his uncle had been writing.

"It's not ready yet" the last exclaimed.

"Ready for what?"

"Reading."

The young hobbit decided it was better to give up and just shrugged his shoulders before walking away to a closet where he was only half surprised to find a huge helmet that had probably been part of an armour long ago, one of the odd things his uncle kept in Bag-End.

As the day of his one-hundred-and-eleventh birthday was getting closer, Frodo couldn't help but thinking that Bilbo was getting even odder than before, refusing to see anyone and spending his hours alone writing his book or losing himself in the contemplation of old maps and parchments. When he was a young boy, his uncle had often told him the stories of his adventures and although he was personally convinced that some of them had purely come from his imagination, he still remembered all the tales. While he had always enjoyed listening to them and had imagined more than once that he too would one day have such stories to tell, he thought that these days, Bilbo's behaviour was almost worrying.

He shook his head to clear it from these thoughts and instead, remembered that a very old friend was going to arrive for the birthday party and that he had to go and meet him. That friend, who was no other than Gandalf the Grey Wizard, had accompanied his uncle in many of his adventures and knew hims better than anyone. If there was someone able to understand what was going through the old hobbit's head, that would most certainly be him. Taking a book with him to read in the fields, Frodo quickly took leave of his uncle and ran down the hill of Bag-End to East-Farthern Woods where he knew he would soon meet the wizard upon his arriving to Hobbiton.

Left alone, Bilbo sighted and opened his book again to take out the two portraits. With a little smile, he looked at the one of his younger self, proudly caressing his chin then his eyes fell on the second one showing the face of the young woman.  
He remembered that night sixty years ago when she had unexpectedly arrived at Bag-End with a company of dwarves that had taken him into their greatest journey across Middle-Earth. Sixty years…He couldn't believe it had been so long already since that bunch of dwarves had invaded his house and forever changed his life.  
He chuckled to himself as Frodo's innocent question came back to him, "_Was this your girlfriend?_". At the time this portrait had been made, he knew a young dwarf prince who wouldn't have been very happy to hear such a question being asked to anyone else than himself…


	2. An Unexpected Party

**Chapter I : An unexpected party**

That night could have been another tranquil and peaceful one spent reading his favourite books on his armchair besides his fireplace after eating his dinner if it hadn't been for those two dwarves who seemed to have invited themselves inside his hobbit hole.  
The first one, big and quite scary-looking, had introduced himself as Dwalin then had quickly eaten Bilbo's food without hesitation. While the poor hobbit was watching his fish and chips being devoured, the doorbell had rung a second time and he had found a second dwarf standing in the doorframe, older and looking much kinder than the first one. He had introduced himself as Balin and without further explication, had come in and he and Dwalin had warmly greeted each other while Bilbo had vainly tried to get some explanations about the reason of their presence in his house.

That's when the doorbell rang a third time. Growing more annoyed than surprised, the hobbit walked to the door once more and opened it to discover two much younger dwarves, the one who looked the eldest had blonde hair and bright eyes, his moustache was braided in a dwarfish fashion and the youngest one had dark hair and only stubble.

"Fili", the blonde introduced himself.

"And Kili."

"At your service", they finished in unison with a low bow.

"You must be Mister Boggins!"

"No! You can't come in, you've come to the wrong house!" Bilbo exclaimed.

He tried to shut the door but the dwarf with brown hair, Kili, blocked it.

"What? Has it been cancelled?" he asked, his voice filled with worry.

"No one told us."

"What? No, nothing's been cancelled", the hobbit sighted.

"That's a relief."

And with that, they made their way inside and Bilbo was too stunned to do anything when Fili started handing him all his weapons.

"Careful with these", he told him, "I just had them sharpened."

"It's nice this place", Kili commented, looking around him and taking the mud off his boots by rubbing them on a piece of furniture. "Did you make it yourself?"

"No, it's been in the family for years", Bilbo found himself answering. "Can you please not do that?"

"Fili, Kili, come on, give us a hand", Dwalin piped in, taking the young dwarf by the shoulders to lead him into the dining room.

"Master Dwalin!" Kili exclaimed with a huge smile.

Fili followed them and Bilbo found himself standing on his own in the entry, carrying Fili's weapons in his arms. He was about to follow them as well when his gaze turned to the door that hadn't been closed and he noticed for the first time a third person who had arrived with the two young dwarves and who had remained on the perron.

He opened his mouth to protest against the new person's entrance inside his house but his words got stuck in his throat when his glance met a pair of big eyes staring at him with surprise and -could it be possible?- respect.

He thought at that moment that he had just met the most beautiful eyes he had ever seen in his hobbit's life. They were blue, a deep dark blue the same color as a beautiful night sky and stars seemed to be shining in them. He felt as if they could read his soul and at that very moment, was convinced that he would never be able to lie to them because they would immediately know. There was also something in those eyes that Bilbo couldn't quite put a name on but that seemed to be the witnesses of a hard and sad past.  
The eyes belonged to a young girl who couldn't possibly be older than the two dwarves who had just preceded her but who, at first sight, looked already much more mature and hardened by life.

She pulled her hood back, revealing luxurious auburn curls that fell down her shoulders and the movement finally made Bilbo leave her eyes to look her up and down in pure astonishment. That's only when he noticed the white moon-shaped scar on her cheek under her left eye and the way she was dressed for travel and carrying at least as many weapons as the four others. He found himself debating whether she was a dwarf or not for she lacked of any facial hair and never had he heard of such beauty amongst the dwarves women but her small size made no doubt she was one of them, and she certainly was no hobbit.

"Master Baggins", she said, "it's an honour to meet you."

"I…the honour is mine…who are you?" he asked, cursing his babbling and trying to shake himself up.

"My name is Luna, at your service", she answered with a respectful bow. "May I come in?"

"Of course…"

He stepped asides to allow her to come in and closed the door behind her. She was polite and seemed to have a lot more manners than the four previous dwarves but her voice was neutral and she didn't smile to him contrarily to the others who all had greeted him with nice smiles -expect for Dwalin.  
He was about to say something when Kili reappeared from the dining room.

"Luna, are you coming or not? Dwalin and Balin are here!" he exclaimed with a huge grin on his face.

She gave Bilbo an apologetic nod then walked into the dining room as well. 

* * *

Thirteen. There were thirteen dwarves in his dining room eating all his food and laughing merrily. Plus a wizard. The rest of the group had arrived shortly after the young girl. They had been pushing so hard against the door that they fell in a messy pile of arms and legs when he opened it. Behind them had been standing Gandalf, the grey wizard who had visited Bilbo earlier that day. As soon as he had seen him, the hobbit had understood that this idea of a gathering in his hobbit hole could only have come from him.

He looked in despair in his cellar that had been completely emptied.

Bilbo basically spent the night trying to save what could be saved from the dwarves who showed the worst table manners he had ever seen. Gandalf had introduced them all to him : Balin,, Dwalin, Fili, Kili, Luna, Oïn, Gloïn, Dori, Ori, Nori, Bofur, Bifur and Bombur, but he had only been able to remember exactly Balin and Dwalin because they had arrived first, Bombur because he was by far the widest person he had ever met, Bifur who had an axe planted in his head and seemed to be only able to speak in Khûzdul and Bofur who was keeping a funny-looking hat one his head even though he was inside. He also remembered the names but always mixed up Fili and Kili and of course remembered Luna who was the only girl amongst them all and was so far the most pleasant unwanted guest. The contrast between her and the others was quite shocking, she remained calm and quiet when they were all speaking loudly and messing around but Bilbo could see some amusement making her eyes shine a bit brighter when the dwarves started improvising a song about himself while -rather dangerously- washing the dishes.

He also noticed how she seemed very close to Fili and Kili and stayed mostly with them although all the others seemed very fond of her as well and, to Bilbo's surprise, didn't seem to find it surprising at all to see a young girl carrying weapons in a company of warriors.

Just as the dwarves' song ended with their laughters and a pile of very clean dishes, a knock on the door quieted them all.

"He is here", Gandalf announced in a low voice.

The dwarves all gathered in the entry and when Bilbo opened the door, a fourteenth dwarf came in. That one didn't look anything like the others : there was no smile on his lips and no amusement in his eyes as he took his fur coat off his broad shoulders. The others looked at him with respect.

"Gandalf", he sighted. "I thought you said this place would be easy to find. I lost me way, twice. I wouldn't have found it at all if it hadn't been for that mark on the door."

That was enough for the hobbit who finally exploded.

"Mark?!" he exclaimed. "There is no mark on the door, it was painted a week ago!"

"There is a mark", Gandalf insisted. "I put it there myself. Bilbo Baggins, allow me to introduce the leader of our company, Thorin Oakenshield."

The dwarf folded his arms. He was taller than Bilbo as they all were -maybe with the exception of Luna- and the hobbit couldn't help but find him a bit intimidating.

"So, this is the hobbit. Tell me, master Baggins, have you done much fighting?"

"What?"

"Axe or sword, what's your weapon of choice?"

"Well, I do have some skills at concaves, if you must now, but I fail to see why that's relevant", the hobbit proudly answered.

"Thought as much. He looks more like a grocer than a burglar."

The dwarves sniggered then followed their leader into the dining room and although he was shocked to have been mocked in his own house by a most unwanted visitor, Bilbo didn't fail to notice that Luna solemnly bowed her head when Thorin passed in front of her and that he answered with a little smile.

At Gandalf's request, Bilbo had agreed to bring Thorin some food and they were all sitting around the table in the dining room while he was eating, questioning him about a meeting that he had attended but the hobbit wasn't really paying attention to the conversation until he saw Gandalf drawing an old parchment out of his coat and put it on the table, revealing a map. As he had always been very fond of those kind of things, this time he paid more attention to what was being said and read over Thorin's shoulder.

"The lonely mountain…"

"Aye", Gloïn said. "Oïn has read the portents and the portents say it is time."

"Ravens have been seen flying back to the mountain as it was foretold", Oïn added. "When the birds of Old return to Erebor, the reign of the beast will end."

"What…beast?" Bilbo asked, perfectly aware that he was going to regret his question.

"Well that would be a reference to Smaug the terrible, chiefest and greatest calamity of our age", Bofur explained as if he was talking about the weather. "Airborne fire breather, tears like razors, claws like meathooks. Extremely fond of gold."

"Yes, I know what a dragon is."

One of the youngest dwarves, Ori, suddenly stood up from his seat and banged his fist on the table.

"I'm not afraid! I'm not afraid! I'll give him a taste of dwarfish iron!"

His brother next to him pulled him back down on his seat but the others cheered until Balin who seemed by far to be the oldest and wisest spoiled the mood.

"The task would be difficult enough with an army behind us", he said. "But we number just fourteen, and not fourteen of the best…nor brightest."

Bilbo couldn't quite disagree with him but the others didn't seem to think that much.

"We may be few in number", Fili exclaimed, "but we are fighters, all of us! To the last dwarf!"

"And you forget we have a wizard in our company, Gandalf would have killed hundreds of dragons in his time!" Kili jumped in to support his brother's argument.

"Well not quite hundreds", Gandalf corrected at once, looking very embarrassed.

"How many then? How many dragons have you killed?"

"Well…I…"

In front of the wizard's hesitation, the dwarves began shouting again and some rose from their seats. Bilbo vainly tried to ask for silence but they only grew quiet again when Thorin himself rose from his seat, shouting a word in Khûzdul.

"If we have read these signs, do you not think others will have read them too?" he asked. "Rumours have begun to spread. The dragon Smaug has not been seen for sixty years, eyes look East to the mountain, wondering, assessing, weighing up the risk. Perhaps the wealth of our people now lies unprotected. Do we sit back whilst others claim what is rightfully ours or do we seize this chance to take back Erebor?!"

Again the dwarves cheered until Thorin sat back and the mood was set down once again by Balin.

"You forget the front gate is sealed. There is no way into the mountain."

"That, my dear Balin, is not entirely true", Gandalf said in a mysterious tone, taking a key out of his sleeve.

From the look on the dwarves' faces, and especially on Thorin's when he saw it, Bilbo assumed this key was going to be very important in whatever plan they were going to come up with.

"How came you by this?" Thorin muttered.

"It was given to me by your father, for safe-keeping. It is yours now."

"If there is a key…there must be a door!" Fili exclaimed.

"These runes speak of a hidden passage", Gandalf confirmed, pointing at the map.

"There's another way in!"

"Yes but of course dwarf doors are invisible. The answer lies somewhere in this map and I do not have the skills to erad it but there are others in Middle-Earth who do. The task I have in mind will require stealth…and no small amount of courage. But I believe that if we are careful and clever, it can be done."

"That's why we need a burglar!" Ori piped in.

"An expert I'd imagine", Bilbo confirmed. He had gotten really interested in their conversation.

"And are you?" Gloïn asked.

Bilbo looked behind him as if he thought there was someone else the dwarf was talking to.

"Am I…?"

"He says he's an expert!" Oïn shouted.

"No! I'm not a burglar! I've never stolen a thing in my life!"

"I'm afraid I have to agree with Mister Baggins", Balin sighted. "He is hardly burglar material."

Bilbo fiercely nodded.

"Aye, the wild is no place for gentle folk who can neither fight nor fend for themselves", Dwalin added.

The rest of the table started shouting in approbation and didn't calm down until Gandalf's shadow seemed to grow around him and he shouted in a very dark voice:

"Enough! If I say Bilbo Baggins is a burglar then a burglar he is! Hobbits are remarkably light on their feet. They can pass unseen by most if they choose and while the dragon is accustomed to the smell of dwarves, the scent of hobbit is all but unknown to him."

He turned to Thorin.

"You asked me to find the fifteenth member of your company and I have chosen Mr Baggins. There's a lot more to him then appearances suggest and he had a great deal more to offer than any of us know…including himself."

Bilbo had an indignant expression on his face. Not only did a whole company invite themselves into his hobbit hole and eat all his food but now they were debating on whether or not they should bring him alone in a quest to slay a dragon.

"Very well we'll do it your way, give him the contract", Thorin sighted.

Before he could protest, Bilbo was handed a very long contract that he unfolded. His face grew paler as he read its content.

"It's just the usual", Balin said, "pocket expenses, time required, remuneration, funeral arrangements, so forth."

"Funeral arrangements?!"

While the hobbit was reading, Thorin leant towards Gandalf.

"I will not be responsible for his safety", he whispered to the wizard.

"Understood."

"Nor will I be responsible for his fate."

"Agreed."

Bilbo was now reading the terms of the contrat aloud, a worried expression on his face.

"Present company will not be liable for injuries inflicted or sustained as a consequence, thereof, including but not limited to lacerations….eviscerations…Incineration?!"

"Aye, he'll melt the flesh off your bones in the blink of an eye", Bofur nodded.

"You alright laddie?" Balin asked in a gentle voice as the hobbit was trying to steady his breathing.

"Think furnace with wings", Bofur continued, not realising the effects his words had on the poor hobbit.

"I…I need air…"

"Flash of light, seering pain and poof! You're no more than a pile of ash!"

There was a little moment of silence.

"Nope", the hobbit said and he collapsed to the ground. 

* * *

While Gandalf was speaking with Bilbo who was sitting in his armchair with a nice cup of tea to regain himself, the company was getting ready to spend the night.

"We leave at first light", Thorin announced. "Get some rest, all of you."

He didn't do it but it was clear to them that he could have ended his sentence by "while you can" for none of them really knew where their quest to reclaim Erebor would lead them but certainly not to safe places where they would be able to sleep peacefully every night.  
Most dwarves were quietly sitting around the house, discussing in low voices or smoking their pipes and Kili went to sit next to Luna who was had quietly sat herself in a corner with Fili.

"So what do you think of him?" he asked her with his usual cheeky grin.

"Bilbo?"

"Yes. He will never sign his contract."

"You don't know that."

"He fainted just by reading it."

"He wasn't expecting anything of what happened tonight. Very few people would have opened their doors to a company of fifteen dwarves carrying weapons and eating all the food. Most would have just kicked us out."

"Who would dare kick Dwalin out of anywhere?" Fili piped in.

That made Kili laugh and Luna chuckle but Fili elbowed them to quiet them when he saw that the warrior had probably heard them and was shooting them a dark look.

"Just give him some time", Luna added. "He needs to sleep on this."

"Still…why do you think Gandalf wants him?"

"I don't know, I had never met this hobbit before tonight but I think we should trust Gandalf."

"Always trust the wizard", Kili smirked, teasing her and she gave him a little kick on the head.

"Are you hitting my baby brother?" Fili asked.

"Will you try to avenge him?"

"I wouldn't dare."

They laughed again.

In the meanwhile, Thorin and Balin had been speaking together a bit apart from the group and the sound of Fili, Kili and Luna laughing caught their attention. Balin couldn't keep himself from smiling when he saw them sitting together and the young girl smiling. The boys were Thorin's nephews, his sister's sons and they really were the only ones who were able to make Luna laugh again.

"Look at them", he told Thorin. "Seeing them like that always reminds me of when they were children."

Thorin nodded.  
The old dwarf's smile faded after a little while and he turned to his king and friend again.

"Do you think it was a good idea to take her with us?" he asked in a low voice.

"She deserves her place in this company at least as much as anyone else", Thorin answered. "Not only because it is her duty to be here, but because she is a fiercest fighter than many of us and her heart is willing and loyal."

"But she is so young Thorin…"

"Not much younger than Kili. She is not a child anymore and with…what happened…she needs to take the place that is rightfully hers amongst the dwarves of Erebor. I know what she went through but she survived, you witnessed it as well as me, and she wouldn't have let us go without her. It is proof that she is ready."

Balin sighted.

"I hope you're right, lad…I hope you're right."

He didn't say any more words, he had had this conversation with Thorin already and he knew nothing would change the mind of his king but still, every time he looked at the girl, he always remembered the child she was long ago and how she had come back to them a couple of months back then.

They then slowly made their way to where the others had gathered in front of the fireplace and in low voices, they sang the song of the lonely mountain in memory of Erebor.

_Far over the Misty Mountains cold_  
_To dungeons deep and caverns old_  
_We must away, ere break of day_  
_To find our long-forgotten gold_

_The pines were roaring on the height_  
_The winds were moaning in the night_  
_The fire was read, its flaming spread_  
_The trees like torches blazed with light_


	3. Tales by the fire

**Chapter II : Tales by the fire**

As Thorin had announced, the dwarves alongside with Gandalf had left Bag-End as soon as the first sun rays had pierced through the leaves of the tall trees. Bilbo had still been asleep when they had left but assuming he wouldn't come, they hadn't bothered waking him up.  
Everything in his house had been set back into place and when he would wake up, it would be as if last night had never happened, except that he would find the contract on his desk, waiting to be signed or just thrown away.

As they were riding their ponies in a line on their way out of the Shire, Thorin leading them at the front, Kili turned to Luna at the back of the group and caught her looking over her shoulder.

"You still think he will come?" he asked.

She turned her eyes towards him and shrugged her shoulders.

"Maybe. As long as we are still within the borders of the Shire, anything can happen."

The dark haired dwarf watched around him at the others who were taking wages on whether the hobbit would join them or not. Most were sure he wouldn't come.

"You want to bet?" he asked the young girl with a roguish smile. "I bet you ten coins that he won't show up."

"And if he does, not only will you have to give me those ten coins but you will be doing my shores for the two next times it'll be my turn."

"Agreed. "

Fili who had heard the exchange between the two of them smiled. Many years might have passed since they were children together with the girl but when it came to teasing each other, she and her brother looked like they had never grown up.

The company kept on traveling and it wasn't long until Luna heard something arriving behind them and called the group to a halt.

"What is it?" Thorin asked at the front.

"Something is coming."

Indeed, a few seconds later, Bilbo appeared from between the bushes, out of breath.

"Wait!" he shouted, running towards them.

Luna bit her lip to avoid laughing when she saw the expression on Kili's face as he tossed her a little purse with ten coins.

"Looks like she managed to trick you into doing her shores again, brother" Fili smirked.

"Oh, shut up"

"I signed it!" Bilbo exclaimed, proudly passing his contract to Balin who carefully took a look at it.

"Everything appears to be in order", the old dwarf announced, "Welcome, master Baggins in the company of Thorin Oakenshield!"

Bilbo did really look happy with himself.

"Give him a pony", Thorin ordered.

The hobbit's face quickly turned from contentement to concern but despite his protestations, he was quickly mounted on a spare pony and Luna repressed a smile when she saw the look he had on his face.

"Well this is going to be interesting", Kili said.

"You still doubt him? He showed up"

"Anyone can show up. What matters is whether he will be able to stay or not"

"I guess we will find that out soon enough. With all the dangers ahead of us, he will quickly get his chance to prove his worth"

"You are such a motivating kind of person", he teased her.

"I am being realistic. Plus, I have reasons to worry more than you. Shall I remind you that I am supposed to protect you amongst other?"

"I don't see how that could cause worry to anyone, am I not the most careful and reasonable dwarf you've ever met?"

"Then you're the only dwarf I've ever met"

That made him chuckle and as they moved on with the group, he looked at her. He loved to play foolish around her to try and make her smile or even better, to make her laugh. Ô Mahal, how much did he love the sound of her laugh…

* * *

They traveled without encountering any trouble for the next few days, stopping at night to make camp and Bilbo soon realised that most of the dwarves were always in a good mood as if they were traveling to visit distant relations and not to risk their lives against a dragon.  
Almost all of them already seemed fond of him and always made room for him around the fire when they were eating and he quickly became comfortable around them, especially Balin, Bofur and the youngest ones.

All were heavily armed without exception but at night when they were sitting around the fire, they were all joking and laughing together, often telling stories of their past adventures or tales that were famous amongst their people.  
Usually, only Thorin, Gandalf and sometimes Dwalin would not take part in their merry discussions, speaking together a bit apart of the group or, in Gandalf's case, simply smoking their pipes in a quieter place. Thorin was also often speaking with Balin who seemed more than the others to be his counsellor and even sometimes, to Bilbo's surprise, with Luna.

The more the hobbit travelled with her, the more questions he wanted to ask her and the first one was : what was a young girl like her doing in the company of Thorin Oakenshield? She was still as nice to him as she had been on their first encounter whenever he talked to her and as the days passed, he even received more and more smiles from her.

One day, as he was riding his pony next to Gandalf and watching her being teased by Fili and Kili as usual, he couldn't stop himself from trying to get some more informations from the wizard.

"Those three seem to be very close", he said.

Gandalf's eyes turned to the three young dwarves ahead of them and a little smile passed his lips.

"Yes. Fili and Kili are Thorin's nephews and heirs, his sister Dis' sons."

"How about Luna? Is she related to them?"

He didn't believe it of course, while Fili and Kili looked similar enough to leave no doubt about their fraternity, Luna did not look anything like them, he just wanted answers to his questions without seeming intruding.

"No, she doesn't share their blood although their families used to be linked in some way."

"Meaning?"

"Luna is from a very ancient and noble line of Erebor. She was a childhood friend of Fili and Kili, the three of them being very close in age."

"How old are they? They look quite young compared to the others…"

"They are quite young indeed for dwarves but old enough to follow the company, do not worry about them, my friend. Fili is eighty-two, five years older than his brother who recently turned seventy-seven and Luna is almost seventy-two if I'm not mistaken" He saw Bilbo's look of surprise. "You did not forget that dwarves have a different life span than hobbits, did you? In dwarf years, they reached the age of maturity."

"Yes…of course…"

The wizard didn't seem to be inclined to pursue their conversation so Bilbo didn't say more and instead, looked at the girl again. He didn't find it hard at all to imagine the three dwarves as children playing around.

That night, they made camp on top of a cliff, a spot that not only offered shelter from the wind thanks to another cliff face behind them but gave them a great view on the surroundings, allowing them to look out for any danger that might come to them.

They loosed the poneys and unpacked their things to get ready for the night and after eating a simple but nice stew made by Bofur, they all wrapped themselves in their blankets to sleep except for Fili and Kili who were on watch and Gandalf who was smoking his pipe a bit farther.  
After trying to ignore Gloïn's snoring for the good part of an hour, Bilbo gave up on trying to fall asleep and decided instead to take a little walk to where the ponies had remained.

He had grown fond of his own pony and after he made sure no one was looking, gave it an apple he had kept after dinner.  
The silence of the night was suddenly broken by a long high-pitched scream that made the hobbit startle and quickly walk back to the camp, frightened.  
He wasn't the only one who had been startled by the screech : Luna who had been lying near the fire next to Fili and Kili, rolled in her blanket, suddenly jumped on her feet, drawing out her twin blades.

"What was that?" Bilbo muttered.

"Orcs" Kili answered in a neutral voice.

"Orcs?" the hobbit repeated, even more afraid, looking into the darkness beyond the cliff.

"Throat-cutters, there'll be dozens of them out there. The lowlands are crawling with them", Fili said. Luna raised an eyebrow at him but he didn't notice it: he was too busy exchanging a smirk with his brother as their teasing was working on the hobbit.

"They strike in the wee small hours when everyone is asleep. Quick and quiet, no screams…just lots of blood", Kili added.

Bilbo's face had paled. Luna seemed about to say something but Thorin had heard the conversation too and didn't seem very happy with his nephews.

"You think that's funny?" he scolded them. "You think a night-raid by orcs is a joke?"

The two brothers looked down at their feet.

"We didn't mean anything by…"

"No you didn't, you know nothing of the world."

Thorin walked away, leaving his nephews with a look of guilt on their faces.

"You deserved this", Luna coldly told them before sheathing her swords and walking away as well to go and sit a bit further.

To Bilbo's surprise, Fili and Kili suddenly looked even guiltier and angry with themselves.

"Don't mind him, lad", Balin suddenly spoke up. He too had been woken up by the orcs' screeches and had witnessed the scene. "Thorin has more causes than most to hate orcs."

Bilbo sat down by the fire, knowing that Balin's stories were always interesting to listen to.

"After the dragon took the lonely mountain, King Thror tried to reclaim the ancient dwarf kingdom of Moria…but our enemy had gotten there first. Moria had been taken by legions of orcs, led by the vile of their race, Azog the Defiler. The Gundabad orc had sworn to wipe out the line of Durin. He began by beheading the king…Thrain, Thorin's father, was driven mad by grief and went missing. Killed or captured, we did not know. We were leaderless. Defeat and death were upon us… that's when I saw him. A young dwarf prince facing down the pale orc. He stood alone against his terrible foe. His armour rent, wielding nothing but a broken branch as a shield. Azog the Defiler learned that day that the line of Durin would not be so easily broken. our forces rallied and drove the Orcs back. Our enemy had been defeated. But there was no feast nor song that night for our dead lay beyond the count of grief. We few had survived and I thought to myself that day, there is one that I could follow. There is one that I could call king."

The other dwarves had by then also made their way to the fire and were listening to the old dwarf's tale.

"And the pale orc? What happened to him?" Bilbo asked.

"He slung back to the hole whence it came. That filth died of his wounds long ago", Thorin himself replied.

At this, Gandalf exchanged a worried look with Balin but none seemed to notice.  
As the dwarves were slowly going back to sleep one by one, there was still something tickling the hobbit's curiosity.

"And…what's with Luna?" he hesitantly asked, seeing that she was still sitting on her own further away and had not come back for the story and remembering how she had jumped to her feet with blades in each hand at the sound of the orcs.

Kili's head snapped towards her and his brother gave him a nod. He stood up and walked to where she was.

"Luna too has reasons to hate orcs", Fili answered the hobbit's questioning glance. "They destroyed her life and tried to kill her."

"What? Why?"

"Hasn't she introduced herself to you?"

"Well…she just gave me her name. Gandalf told me she comes from an ancient family, that's all."

Balin nodded.

"Luna is the daughter of Laïn, a hero amongst the dwarves, a very highly respected dwarf, not only because he was one of Thorin's dearest friends but because he was the last captain of the royal guard of Erebor before the dragon took the mountain."

"There was a royal guard?"

"Where there is a king, there is a guard, laddie. The title of captain passed in their family for generations. Once a captain, you stayed captain until your death and only then did the title pass to your first heir. Laïn was the captain of king Thror when Smaug came. He truly was a great captain and a valuable friend to young prince Thorin. Laïn followed the king and lead our armies into the battle of Moria where he was very badly wounded. So badly actually that when we came back from the battle, Thorin sent him to rest in a hidden valley in the blue mountains where he could heal at peace and look after his children in safety."

"What do you mean in safety?"

"As I said, Azog the Defiler wanted to wipe out the line of Durin. The orcs want the line of the kings of Erebor to die because without a king to sit on the throne, our people will never reclaim the mountain and the orcs want it for themselves but what always stands between them and the kings are the captains. They need to kill the captains to destroy the line of Durin and the fact that Laïn always fought them so valiantly he became one of their fiercest ennemies did nothing to settle the situation. They ended up taking it personally and want to see the captains dead almost as much as they want to see the kings dead."

"What happened to him?" Bilbo feared the answer. The look in Luna's eyes, her apparent hate for orcs,…none of that sounded good to him.

"It took them quite a time but the orcs ended up finding the place where he lived in the hidden valley", Balin sighted. "They surprised him during the night and…well…" The old dwarf really seemed sad. "There were lots of people living in the house : guards, maid, cooks,…all were savagely murdered then the place was set on fire and in the ashes of the house were found Laïn's steel leg, for he had lost his own at the battle of Moria, as well as his and his children's family rings."

Bilbo looked into the fire then gave a quick look to where Luna and Kili were sitting.

"And Luna…was she in the house?" he asked.

"Yes."

"How did she…?"

"We don't know…when the news of what had happened were reported to us, we assumed she had died too, her ring was amongst the others that had been found and then, a few weeks afterwards, she arrived out of nowhere, more dead than alive and it took our healers all their skills and all our prayers to Mahal to keep her alive", Fili answered.

"Has she never talked about it?"

"Those events happened only a few months ago. It took weeks before we were able to sleep peacefully at night without fearing she might be dead in the morning. I am not even sure she remembers everything between the moment the orcs attacked and the moment we found her, I think the trauma she went through made her lose some of the memories. In time she will remember."

Although most of his questions had finally been answered, Bilbo felt more sad than happy after hearing the young girl's story.

"Did her whole family die that night?" he asked, hoping despite everything a good news.

"All that remained of it. Her mother died giving her birth the day Smaug took Erebor. It is the dragon who is responsible for the scar on her cheek. When I look at her, I am always reminded that despite all the deaths that occurred that terrible day, a very promising girl came to the world." Balin said with a little chuckle. "She had two brothers who were already old enough at the time to follow their father to Moria, that's why she stayed with Dis, Fili and Kili when she was a child. The eldest brother died shortly after the battle in an ambush lead by orcs and the second one died with his father a few months ago."

Bilbo slowly nodded.

"So now…is she the captain in her turn?" he asked. "I mean she is a girl…can girls bear the title as well?"

"Well it never happened before…but there is no law against it. The law says that the heir of the previous captain becomes captain in his turn and she is the last heir of Laïn. Her father educated her the same way he did with her brothers, it didn't matter to him that she was a girl. She was his heir as well and he knew he couldn't be certain no harm would ever come to his sons."

"You haven't seen her in a fight yet" Fili added with a smile, "but make sure to watch her when you get the chance. Sometimes both Kili and I are not enough to disarm her."

A little smile passed on Bilbo's lips. He didn't know why but he didn't doubt that for a second.

* * *

In the meanwhile, Kili had followed Luna a bit further and she raised an eyebrow at him when she saw him.

"Luna, we are sorry, that was very stupid of us", he apologised.

She turned her eyes to where Fili had stayed with Bilbo and the others and saw him nodding at her as if to approve what his brother had just said.

"It's alright…but you should know better than speak such words in front of your uncle"

"And in front of you. I'm definitely not the brightest dwarf of this company"

"Sorry, what was that? I am not sure I heard you well…"

That made him smile and she returned it to him.

"I am a very immature and childish dwarf", he added to make her laugh as he sat himself next to her. "Really, I don't know how people cope with me, I myself find it hard to get along with me once in a while."

"Don't overact it, you're not that bad."

"This might be one of the best compliments you ever made me."

She chuckled but at that moment, the orcs' screams were heard again and her body stiffened.

"It's okay", Kili whispered squeezing her knee and taking her hand, "I'm right here".

"This won't do if you start reversing our roles", she said, a shy skill stretching her lips. "I am supposed to be the one who protects you."

"That wasn't protecting, simply reassuring. You may be our captain but I still have the right to reassure you, have I not?"

"Kili…", she bit her lip. "I am not a captain. My father was. We've been through this already."

"You do everything a captain should do and so far you do it brilliantly."

"Only Thorin can be the judge of that."

"I have a feeling he won't hesitate much on that matter you know. You remind him of your father and your father himself was one of his biggest reminders of Erebor. It's almost as symbolic as it is useful to have a captain and after all, if he didn't think you worthy of that title, you wouldn't be here in the company tonight."

"I am not doing all this to become a captain myself Kili, I am doing it because it is my duty to my father. He always used to tell us that a captain is not only someone who bears that title and stands next to the king. A captain is first of all a warrior that is loyal to the royal family no matter what and is willing to give his life for his king. My family has sworn to protect the line of Durin until the last of us has one drop of blood left in his veins. I am here to honour that allegiance, not to get a title."

"I know you are." He paused for a few seconds. "Whatever the reasons, I am happy you are part of this journey."

She gave him another smile but didn't answer. No matter how much she liked being with the brothers again, she would never have been there if her family had not been killed.  
As a comfortable silence settled between them, Luna felt the sleep creeping up to her and she rested her head on Kili's shoulder who put his arm around her waist.  
He watched as she slowly fell asleep and didn't long to let the fatigue of the day overcome him as well.

* * *

_Night had fallen over the blue mountains and everything was silent, mostly because there wasn't that many dwarves living there in small houses especially since lots of them had left the same day to go and take back the mines of Moria from the orcs that had dwelt in them far longer than any respectable dwarf could bear._

_Only those who were too old to fight as well as the few women and children had remained, alongside with some warriors just in case and the departure of the army that had followed their king Thror had grieved them all and set a sad and uneasy atmosphere._  
_The dwarves had gone to sleep little by little though and all the candles had been blown in the houses, allowing the quiet darkness of the night to settle in._

_In one of the houses which seemed bigger than the others tough, a little dwarf was lying in bed with his big dark eyes wide open. His hair was a tangle of brown messy curls and besides him his brother who was just a bit older than him was peacefully sleeping._  
_The little dwarfling hadn't been able to find any sleep because he kept thinking of what had happened today. He was still a bit too young to fully understand why everyone had seemed so sad and had asked his brother who hadn't given any satisfying explication. Despite his already stubborn nature, it hadn't taken him long to drop the subject because his attention had something else to focus on that was indeed quite interesting : the little girl who was going to stay with them until her father and brothers came back with his uncle from Moria._  
_Just as his thoughts were turning to her again, he suddenly heard the door of the room cracking and saw it being slowly pushed open in the dark._

_"Fili…" he whispered._

_"Mmh" his brother mumbled in his sleep._

_The door closed. Something had come in._

_"Fili! "_

_"What is it Kili?" his brother asked in a sleepy and irritated voice._

_"There's something!"_

_"Mmh? "_

_Fili couldn't see much in the dark but felt his little brother clung to his arm._  
_He reached for a candle on the bedside table and lit it up, allowing them both to look around and see what had caused Kili to be afraid._

_"It's not something, it's just Luna", he said, seeing the little girl watching them with big frightened eyes, her back against the door._

_"What are you doing here?" the youngest brother exclaimed, letting go of Fili's arm. "You should be in your bed, if Ma' sees you she will…"_

_"Let her be Kili, she's scared that's all. " He turned towards the girl and gave her a smile. "You're scared, aren't you? "_

_She slowly nodded._

_"What are you afraid of?" the brunette exclaimed._

_"The orcs", she muttered, entangling her fingers and looking down at her feet. "Usually I sleep with my brothers and I'm not afraid but now they aren't there…"_

_Fili was still very young, only a child, but sometimes he could already show himself quite mature for his age and his smile to the little Luna grew fonder._

_She was very young, even younger than Kili and her father and two brothers had left with the army, leaving her to his mother's care as the young girl's had died a couple of years ago and she had no one left to look after her._  
_She was watching them from the door, her big dark blue eyes going from them to her feet and her little auburn curls spread on her shoulders. Fili's attention was briefly drawn to the white moon-shaped scar on her left cheek then he shook his head and got off the bed to walk towards her._

_"There's no need to be afraid", Kili said. "You can sleep with us if you want, it will be like being with your brothers. This bed is huge!"_

_"Come, Fili said", holding out his hand to her._

_She hesitated for a few seconds then took it and walked back with him to the bed in which he helped her climb._  
_The three of them crawled under the blankets, the brothers careful of putting Luna between them._

_"Better?" Kili asked._

_"Yes, thank you", she whispered._

_"Anytime", Fili yawned. "Go back to sleep now, the two of you. "_

_He blew the candle._


	4. Nightmare

**_Hi everyone! First of all, thank you to all those who already follow/favorite my story, I am very happy to see that some people are enjoying it!  
__Thank you also to those who reviewed it, it is very motivational to hear what you guys actually think about the story and I hope it will continue to please you that way :) _  
_You will once in a while find flash-backs in my chapters (such as this one), I will try not to put too many of them but they will be quite important for the story so sorry about that..._  
_Enjoy and as always, I'd be more than happy to read what you thought of it!_**

* * *

**Chapter**** III : Nightmare**

_Silence had settled for the night in the hidden valley. With the winter approaching, the birds had gone away and most of the animals living in the woods wouldn't be seen either until spring, leaving the valley noiseless during the night when the dwarves were asleep._  
_There weren't that many living in this valley ideally located in the heart of the blue mountains : only a little village at its entrance and a bit further up on the mountain, a big house._

_Everything was quiet and still, Luna woke up and sat up so suddenly on her bed that she felt a bit dizzy for a few seconds. The young girl lit a candle on her bedside table then looked around the room. Nothing had moved yet she had a bad feeling that she couldn't explain._  
_Deciding it was certainly due to the nightmare she had just had, she stood up and poured herself some water from a pitcher then sat at her desk. Her eyes fell on the letter that she had opened earlier written by her friend Kili who also lived in the mountain, a few days' ride from the valley._

_She absentmindedly smiled to herself while rereading it. It had been well over sixty years since she had last seen him and yet, he insisted on keeping sending her letters once in a while. He was never able to say much and the letters were very occasional because for safety reasons, messengers couldn't travel too often from one place to another, else it might reveal where her family was hiding but still it never failed to make her happy when he wrote to her._

_She had never seen him again since that day when she had left his place where she had lived for a while to go and settle here with her family. At the time, they were only children and she often wondered what he might look like now._

_In this letter, he was telling her how he had finally become taller than Fili, which was a goal he had set himself a very long time ago, and about other things that seemed more or less important to him. His letter ended with a short passage that had made her even happier when she had read it : he was writing that he had heard his uncle Thorin planning to go on a quest to try and reclaim Erebor, that he needed a company to follow him and that of course, the first dwarf he would call upon to help him was her own father, Laïn. In that idea, Thorin was most likely going to travel to the hidden valley soon enough to let his captain know about his plan and with his brother, they intended to accompany him -with or without his leave- because after all, they were his heirs, princes of Erebor and were now more than old enough to prove their value in a quest, especially a quest to reclaim their kingdom._

_She had already heard words of Thorin getting ready to start such a quest. He and her father kept in touch as often as they could and indeed, Laïn had been the first one to get involved in his king's plan to reclaim the lonely mountain. She had been quite dubitative about whether that was a good idea or not, particularly because her father was now getting quite old and had never fully recovered from the battle of Moria that had taken a leg and an eye from him, but after all, a captain's duty was not to question the intentions of his king. Now that she understood that it meant she might get a chance to see her friends again tough, she was looking forward to hear more about it._

_Maybe that if she hadn't been so busy rereading the letter, she would have looked out her window and noticed the dozens of shadows crawling in the night towards the house. But she didn't and it is only when a scream brutally pierced the silence that she jumped on her feet._  
_Lights were turned on in the house, others had been woken up and other screams quickly followed. Luna carefully looked outside from the window and finally saw them, all the shadows. Her blood froze._

_Orcs._

_They had found them at last!_

_She folded the letter and shoved it inside her pocket then grabbed a knife that she always kept with her and ran out of her room._

_In the corridor, there was already a rush: many people lived with them in the house : guards mostly but also cooks, maids and even messengers. All had now been woken up and were running here and there in panic._

_"Miss Luna, you can't stay here!" a maid suddenly exclaimed, taking her arm._

_She knew her very well, she was more than a simple maid, she had been her nurse when she was a little girl._

_"Where is my father? And my brother?" Luna asked._

_"I haven't seen them but you have to go! If the orcs see you, they will kill you!"_

_"I need to find them."_

_"Miss Luna!"_

_"Stay with the guards, get out of here!" she shouted, already running in the opposite direction._

_She ran down the flight of steps that lead from the first story of the house where her room was to the ground level._  
_In a room where occasional meetings amongst the notable dwarves of the valley were held, she found a first body, a young maid whose killer was still standing next to her._

_"Well, if it isn't Laïn's daughter in person…", the orc said._

_She thought that the common speech never sounded good in an orc's mouth._

_"Get out of here."_

_"Else what?"_

_He charged her and she barely had time to step aside to avoid his attack. Thankfully, she had taken that knife with her from her room and it was small enough so that the orc hadn't noticed she was carrying it. Thinking she was weaponless, he didn't expect her to return his attack and didn't get the chance to react on time when she spun around and drove her blade straight into his chest._  
_He died cursing her in black speech._

_She then kneeled next to the body of the young maid just in case she was still alive but it was useless. Hearing more and more heavy footsteps coming in her direction and the screams of the dwarves mixing with the curses of the orcs, she hurriedly left the room and went back to finding her family._  
_Now, most of the dwarves who could fight were bravely trying to push the invaders back and protect the others while they were trying to get out of the house._

_"Father! Lunkin!" she was calling after her father and brother._

_"Luna!" she heard at last._

_Spinning around, she finally saw them, swords in hand, running towards her. Just like everyone else, they had been surprised while they were sleeping and were simply wearing their night clothes._

_"You two must get out of here!" Laïn ordered them._

_"I am not leaving you, father" Lunkin replied._

_"Nor am I"_

_"You don't understand, the Orcs are here to kill you! You need to go, now, else they will find you!"_

_"We are from the line of the captains, father" Luna said, "we don't run away from a fight."_

_Despite the situation, Laïn looked at his two last children with proud in his remaining eye._

_"Get down!" he suddenly shouted._

_As Luna and Lunkin automatically dropped to the ground, he blocked the blade of an enemy that was aimed at their necks._

_"No one threatens my children!" he exclaimed before killing him."No one!"_

_As they both got back to their feet, he put a hand on their shoulders._

_"Very well. You need to get everyone safely out of this house. Is that understood?"_

_"But you…"_

_"I will just check upstairs that no one is left behind then I'll join you. You need to save those people."_

_As Lunkin started shouting to everyone to follow him, Luna still looked hesitant._

_"Father…"_

_"Luna, I will join you. I promise."_

_She nodded and picked an abandoned sword on the floor to help her brother while Laïn disappeared upstairs._

_"Follow us, all of you!" she shouted._

_As she made her way towards the nearest exit, killing any enemy who stood in front of her and followed by all those who were still alive, she saw Lunkin looking at the stairs their father had climbed moments ago with hesitation._

_"Lunkin!"_

_"Lead them out, I'll be right back!" he exclaimed and before she had the time to stop him, he ran upstairs as well._

_"Follow me!" she shouted again._

_As they were coming closer to the exit, she found less and less orcs in the way and at her greatest surprise, the way out wasn't blocked and in a few minutes, they were all outside the house._

_It would have been too easy…It's only once they had exited the house that they realised it had been set on fire and that the flames had begun to spread on the roof._

_Behind them, the house was on fire and in front of them, the orcs had completely circled the house. It had all been a trap. There was no way to escape now._

_Luna shot a murderous glance at an orc in the circle in front of her that was giving her an evil smile then looked at all the dwarves that could not fight and that she had lead out of the house who were now desperately looking around them for a way to get out of that nightmare._

_"All those who can fight, with me!" she found herself shouting._

_All the guards and those who had found a weapon during their fled formed a circle as well around those who wouldn't be able to defend themselves._

_"Hold your ground!" she shouted as the orcs were giving the assault._

_They were outnumbered and no matter how bravely the dwarves fought, the enemies quickly broke their line and the screams of those who were defenceless rang in Luna's ears as she was trying to push her assaillants back._  
_She suddenly lost her grip on her sword when an orc managed to hit her arm and a hiss of pain escaped her. The mortal blow she was about to receive then was blocked by one of the few dwarves that remained and he killed the orc before turning to her._

_"Go and find your father and brother", the guard told her._

_"It's hopeless" she said, looking at the battle and the bodies around her._

_"As long as there is a captain, hope remains" He nodded at her. "Go now!"_

_She bit her lip._

_"I can't leave you…"_

_"It's too late for us, miss Luna", he said with a sad smile. "But it is not for you."_

_She tried to say something but an orc stood in front of them at that moment and she avoided one of his blows, rolled on the ground to pick up her sword and after one last look towards the guard who was fighting the orc, ran back inside the house that was now being completely devoured by the flames._

_"Father!" she shouted._

_She quickly had to stop shouting and put her sleeve against her mouth to not breathe the smoke._  
_She managed to go upstairs and fell to the ground when her feet got caught into something. Standing back up, she noticed it was the body of her nurse._

_"No…Father! Lunkin!"_

_She coughed again but kept on walking._

_Finally, she found them in a little library. They were both lying on the ground, in a puddle of blood._

_"No!"_

_She ran towards them and kneeled next to Lunkin who was the closest. He was alive but a single look at his wounds was enough to tell that he wouldn't be for long._

_"Luna…what the hell are you doing…here?" he muttered._

_"Looking for you…"_

_"Go away little sister…"_

_"Not without you."_

_She was doing her best to contain her tears. It didn't even matter anymore that the house was on fire._  
_Lunkin raised a hand to cup her face._

_"Yes…this time, without me. You still have…a chance…"_

_That was too much for her and the tears finally ran down her face._

_"Go…" he whispered._

_His hand fell back to his side. He was dead._

_"No!" she shouted._

_"Luna…?"_

_Her head snapped to where her father was lying. He was still alive!_

_"Father!"_

_She rushed towards him. He was very badly hurt too but she tried not to look at his wounds. She had to get him out of here, he at least could survive._

_"Come father, we need to get out!"_

_She tried to pull him up on his feet but it was useless._

_"Please…"_

_"Lunkin…?"_

_She shook her head, tears still running down her cheeks._

_"Then you…you are now the captain of Erebor…", he whispered._

_"No! Don't say such things, you will live!"_

_"Luna…"_

_She fell on her knees, giving up on trying to pull him up and sobbed._

_"Father please…I…I can't do this…not alone…"_

_"Of course you can, my daughter. You have been trained for this and I am convinced…that you…you will be a great captain. Luna, look at me."_

_She turned her eyes to meet his._

_"You need to go and find the king. He…and his heirs…are yours to protect now…"_

_"Father…"_

_"Take my sword"_

_She shakily took it._

_"It is yours now…"_

_"But…"_

_"Luna. Do it for me"_

_She was biting her lip so hard that blood ran down her chin. If she was about to say something, her father never got the chance to hear it for at that moment, a terrible crack was heard and the house, completely ravaged by the fire, collapsed on itself._

* * *

Luna woke up so brusquely that Kili next to her woke up as well, all his senses in alert. It was the middle of the night now and everyone was asleep besides Bofur who was on watch a bit farther by the fireplace.

"What is it? What happened?" he asked, worry filling his voice.

She was breathing precipitately, trying to chase the images of her dreams away from her mind.

"Nothing" she gasped, "it was just a nightmare…I'm sorry."

"Do you…want to talk about it?" he asked with a yawn.

She shook her head.

"No, it's alright. I'm sorry I woke you up, go back to sleep."

He shrugged her shoulder and made a move to lie back when then saw that she was getting up and gently caught her wrist.

"Luna…"

He felt that she was shaking.

"Did you see the orcs again?"

He remembered very well how every night after she had woken up a few months ago after they found her, she had had those terrible nightmares where she was seeing the orcs that had killed her family. As the weeks had passed, they had become less and less frequent but sill some nights he could tell they hadn't entirely left her.

"Yes" Of course, this time she had seen far more than only the orcs, she had been through the whole night in her dream which had never happened so far.

The screeches of the orcs they had heard earlier were probably the cause of that.  
She gently freed herself from his grip and gave him the most convincing smile she could.

"I'm okay Kili, I just need to take a few steps" she whispered.

He nodded and watched her walk away towards the fire with a mix of concern and sadness in his eyes.

"You don't sleep lass?" Bofur asked when she came to sit next to him.

She shook her head.

"No, but you can go if you want, I'll hold the watch."

He raised an eyebrow but gave her a soft smile.

"We'll hold it together then."

As silence settled back between them, Luna put her hand inside her coat and she took out a piece of parchment that was in a very poor state. It looked as if it had been half-burnt then frozen and here and there, some traces of blood had left dark marks but strangely, the writing was still readable. It barely mattered anyway, she had read Kili's words over and over again so many times that she knew it by heart now.  
The ring on her finger, her father's sword and this torn letter were all she had left from her past life now.


	5. The stubbornness of dwarves

**Chapter IV : The stubbornness of dwarves**

"Bless you"

"Th...thanks", Bilbo answered Luna with a smile.

The fact that it had been raining buckets since the morning added to his little allergy to horse hair was doing nothing to make his journey any pleasant that day.  
Luna repressed a laugh when she saw him taking out of his pocket the same old piece of cloth Bofur had given him as a handkerchief when he had forgotten his own at the beginning of their quest.  
With each passing day, she grew fonder of the hobbit, there was something very innocent and very sweet about him that she had never met before in anyone else.  
The hobbit probably caught the light of amusement in her eyes because he raised an eyebrow at her.

"What's so funny?" he asked.

"Sorry, I was just thinking that hobbits really are interesting folks" she answered, not able to repress her smile anymore.

"Even more drenched hobbits apparently"

A little laugh escaped her and some dwarves, including Kili, turned their eyes towards her. The sound of her laughing was the first happy thing happening today. With the rain pouring down on them since they had set off this morning, even Fili and Kili seemed to be in no mood to joke around.

"So tell me, how do you find travelling with a company of dwarves so far?" Luna asked.

Bilbo seemed surprised to hear such a question.

"You should ask me on better days, right now I wish for nothing more than find a nice, warm place where I could dry myself by a fire then go for a good night's sleep and forget about all this."

"I challenge you to find a dwarf in this company who doesn't wish for the same thing right now"

"Even Thorin...?" he asked in a lower voice by fear to be heard.

"Yes, even him" she smiled, looking at her king's back as he was riding at the front of the group as usual. "Even Thorin longs for the comforts of his home"

Bilbo bit his lip in a dubitative way at this.

"You think I'm wrong?" she asked.

"No...I mean, it's just that..."

He bit his lip again and turned his eyes away.

"Nothing, never mind"

It was her turn to raise an eyebrow.

"I know what you think of him" she said.

"What?"

They were now speaking in lower voices to not be heard by anyone. Thankfully, that was made easier by their position at the very back of the group and the fact that all the others had their hoods drawn back on their heads, covering their ears at least a little bit to protect themselves from the rain.

"You think he is cold, rude and thinks himself superior to the others"

"What?! No...I..." he violently exclaimed.

"You don't have to deny it in front of me."

That was true, Bilbo remembered his first encounter with the girl when he had found her on his perron and that the first thing he had seen were her eyes that seemed able to see the finest lies. He remembered thinking to himself that night that he would never be able to hide anything from her.

"I know he may seem antipathetic at times but it's because you don't really know him yet" she continued. "Thorin can be harsh at times, it's true, but he will always do anything when it comes to protecting those he cares for. See all those dwarves who are following him? They do it because they believe he will lead them back home to Erebor, because they trust him"

Bilbo let his glance wander to the dwarf leading the company.

"And why do _you_ follow him?" he asked.

"Because it is my duty to him and to my father...and also because it is a chance to get our home back"

"I'm sorry if this sounds displaced but there is something I don't understand...how can you call it your home when you have never really lived there yourself and don't remember it?"

She paused for a few seconds.

"Erebor is home to every dwarf...that's where my family lived and protected the line of Durin for generations. Erebor is my home."

Her tone wasn't convincing enough to him but he thought it wiser to change the subject.

"So...how long have you and Kili known each other exactly?" he asked in a lighter tone.

"Basically since I was born I think...but then we spent like sixty or seventy years without seeing each other. Why's that?"

"I just thought you made a beautiful couple"

Luna dropped her jaw in surprise and coughed, violently shaking her head.

"What?!"

"Aren't you two kind of...together?" Bilbo asked in a small voice, confused.

"No!"

"You mean...not at all? Not even a little bit?"

"Bilbo, no!"

Luna knew perfectly well that she was blushing right now and pulled her hood closer to her face just in case any of the dwarves turned around and looked their way. How could the hobbit even think like that? No one had ever mentioned Kili and her being more than friends -besides Fili when he was teasing his brother- and even the simple idea of loving someone in that way had not come to her mind at all since the death of her father and brother a few months ago, not that it was something she often got the chance to think of before that.

It was true that she was closer to Kili than she was to anyone else, even Fili. They usually slept not far from each other -if not curled up against each other like that night on the cliff- but that is something they had always done when they were children and that she was afraid to sleep alone. Strangely, their habit had come back almost seventy years later once they started this quest when almost naturally they had searched the comfort and safety of the other's presence to sleep but that meant nothing at all.  
Kili was her friend and even if she wanted him to become more than that, which she didn't, it would never happen because he was a prince of Erebor and she was meant to be a captain whether she wanted it or not. Her role was to protect him and it was hard enough already to keep an eye on that young reckless dwarf, there was no need to add feelings in that matter.

"That's a shame you know" Bilbo insisted with this smile a little grin on his face. "Because the way he looks at you...I'm convinced you would only need to say the words and he would fall for you"

She shook her head and allowed herself to smile. He was just joking, that was it. The hobbit had now spent enough time with the dwarves to get used to their habit of teasing each other.

"I don't think so, no. You are mistaken. There has never been more than friendship between Kili and me."

"But could there be?"

"Never has been and never will be."

Bilbo sighted and shook his head.

"I have been warned against it though...but still it never fails to amaze me"

"What?"

"The stubbornness of dwarves" he said and Luna smiled again.

* * *

A few days later, the rain had finally stopped, leaving the company exhausted from journeying under the buckets of water that had poured on them for what felt like an eternity and that's why Thorin called the company to a halt earlier than usual that day.

"We'll camp here tonight!" Thorin shouted from the head of the group.

Luna sighted in relief. She was sore from sitting on her pony all day long and was in desperate need for some rest and a good bath.

"Fili, Kili, watch the ponies, stay with them" Thorin called his nephews.

She waited for a few seconds as he was starting to give orders to more or less everyone to set the camp to see whether he would tell her to do something as well but as he said nothing, she dismounted and closed her eyes for a few seconds to chase her headache away.

"Are you alright?"

She opened her eyes again to see Fili watching her with concern in his eyes.

"Yes, just tired"

He raised an eyebrow but she smiled at him and passed him the reins of her pony.

"Have fun watching the ponies with Kili" she grinned at him.

"I take it you won't join us?"

"I'd much rather take the opportunity of a tranquil night to go for a good bath"

"A bath?" Kili exclaimed a bit further, eavesdropping on them. "But we have been traveling under the rain for days!"

"There are some people in this company who enjoy smelling good once in a while" she rolled her eyes.

"Damn it, Fili, I think you were right...she is a girl!"

As the blonde laughed, she shook her head in exasperation.

"Just go and watch the ponies" she sighted before taking her bag and heading towards where the others were already setting the camp.

As she made her way towards them, Gandalf suddenly walked passed her with a very irritated look on his face.

"Gandalf? Where are you going?" Bilbo called from where he was standing a bit further.

"To seek the company of the only one around here who's got any sense!"

"Who's that?"

"Myself, master Baggins!"

Luna heard him mumbling some words as he walked away and caught some of it, including words about the "stubbornness of dwarves".

"Is he coming back?" Bilbo asked Balin, an expression of worry on his face.

The young girl's eyes traced back the way from where the wizard had come and was only half-surprised to find Thorin standing near the old ruins, looking in the direction Gandalf had left with a dark look.

Despite herself, Biblo's words from the other day came back to her mind when she saw him with such a look in his eyes. _How can you call it your home when you have never lived there yourself and don't remember it?_  
She quickly shook her head to chase the thought away. She couldn't allow herself to think like that, that's not what she was supposed to do.

"Where are ye going lass?" Dwalin called when he saw her walking away.

"To take a bath, there is a river nearby"

"Oh, can I come?" Bofur teasingly asked and Dwalin kicked him on the head.

"It depends, how much do you value your life?"

She walked away while the dwarves laughed.

* * *

"Luna seems to have gotten a lot better"

Kili looked at his brother. They were sitting on a fallen tree trunk, watching the ponies. They could once in a while hear the laughters of the rest of the companies who were probably eating together around a fire.

"Don't you think so little brother?" Fili asked as Kili wasn't answering.

The young dwarf remembered the nightmare she had had that night on the cliff and how he had felt her shaking when he had caught her wrist.

"I don't know...she is still having those nightmares once in a while"

"She will have them for a long time you know...I doubt they will ever entirely disappear But besides that, doesn't she look better to you now?"

"Maybe...it is true that she laughs more and doesn't look so much like she is forcing it any more."

"Good, now that we are clear on this point, I can finally ask you a question that has burnt my tongue for the past few months but that didn't sound appropriate until now"

Kili shot his brother a curious and suspicious glance.

"So...what do you think of her?"

He raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?"

"What do you think of Luna? She is quite beautiful, isn't she ?"

"I guess she is..." he prudently answered, not sure of where his brother was going with this.

"Come on Kee, you can don better than that, I have seen how you've looked at her ever since she came back."

"What in Durin's name are you implying?"

"You find her attractive"

"No! I mean...of course she is quite attractive...everyone can see that"

"But you better than the others, hmm?"

"No"

"You have never been and will never be able to hide anything from me baby brother. At the beginning, I was ready to believe you were only concerned by her survival but now that it's over, you can't deny that you don't fancy her."

"I do not fancy her!"

"What? Are you madly in love already?"

"Fili, stop it! I am not having feelings for Luna and even if I were, I hardly believe that's the kind of thing she is looking for right now after the murder of her family"

"You don't know that"

"Yes I do. She is not ready to fall in love now"

"No one is ever ready to fall in love, brother. That's not something that one plans, it just happens. That's why it's called _falling_, you'd be pretty retarded if you actually planned to fall"

"And since when are you such a philosopher?"

"Not a philosopher, just a big brother"

He gave Kili a huge grin that made the youngest roll his eyes.

"At least, admit that she is beautiful" he insisted.

"Fili, stop it. I am not in love with Luna, nor is she in love with me"

"Alright, alright..."

He paused for a minute or two.

"But seriously, from brother to brother...how do you find her?" he couldn't stop asking again.

"Fili..."

"From brother to brother! I'm not implying anything this time! From...an objective point of view"

Kili sighted and looked ahead of him towards the ponies. Despite Fili's annoying teasing, he was forced to admit that indeed, he hadn't seen her for over sixty years, but she had grown very beautiful. She probably didn't know that but over the years, rumours had begun to spread in the Blue Mountains about her. Messengers who traveled to and from the hidden valley often reported that Laïn's daughter was of a great beauty such as they had rarely had the chance to see. When he had first heard that, he had laughed, remembering the little girl who used to win when they fought and came back home at night covered in dirt to Dis' greatest frustration -she who had always wished for a girl and got instead a third boy as Kili called her to annoy her when she had beaten him in a fight- but then, had grown always more and more curious to actually see her again and when he had, he had found himself unable to speak for a brief instant as his eyes had landed on her face.

"Yes...she is very beautiful", he sighted.

Although he had promised to stop teasing him, Fili's grin grew wider but he unfortunately had to drop the subject for now because Kili suddenly stood up with a frown on his face.

"What is it?"

"The ponies...we are missing one."

Fili stood up as well and looked around, mentally counting the animals.

"Not only one...", he whispered.

At that moment, Bilbo arrived with two bowls of stew that he had been told to bring them but they didn't even seem to notice him when he handed them their dinners.

"What's the matter?" he asked.

"We are supposed to be looking after the ponies" Kili said.

"Only we've encountered a slight problem" Fili added. "We had sixteen and now there's...fourteen"

* * *

Luna emerged from the water and pushed her wet hair away from her face, taking in a deep breath.  
She swam towards the edge of the little pool she had found and went back to the place where it was shallow enough for her feet to touch the ground.  
There, she just rested her forearms on the flat stones that surrounded the little pool and sighted in relief, closing her eyes to appreciate her peaceful moment of privacy.

_"Luna. Do it for me"_

_She was biting her lip so hard that blood ran down on her chin. She opened her mouth to say something but at that moment, a terrible crack was heard and she barely had the time to snap her head up to see what remained of the roof collapsing._

_"NO!"_

_She held on to her father as she felt everything falling apart around her and her scream got lost in the thundering sound of the collapsing house._

She opened her eyes again, her heart pounding in her chest as the memories of that night came back to her in a flash.  
She leaned on the rocks for a few minutes, trying to steady her breathing. The usual scenes that she sometimes saw piping up in her mind were blurry images of orcs and snow, and usually they came to her as nightmares during her sleep but it was the second time now that a scene came back so brightly, it was as if she was there again. Plus, this time she hadn't even been asleep…

For weeks she had wished that the nightmares would remain what they were ; only blurry images, and had hoped that all the memories she had lost wouldn't come back. She had lived through the loss of her family and home and through weeks of being chased down by orcs until she reached her childhood's friends' place and she definitely wasn't ready to see it all a second time.

She looked down at herself in the water. Who was she trying to fool? There was no way she would ever be able to live without remembering or thinking about it. Her body itself was a constant reminder of what had happened with all the scars she had gotten from those events. Although she couldn't remember right now where they all came from, she had a feeling it wouldn't be long anymore until it all came back. She ran her fingers on a long one running from her shoulder down her arm. That one, she remembered, it was a piece of wood from her house that had embedded itself into her flesh when the place had collapsed.

She shook her head. No, she had to stop thinking about that. If the memories decided to come back, very well, but she wouldn't let them affect her in that way. She was Laïn's daughter, a heir of the captains of Erebor, she wasn't going to let some memories beat her up, not when she had three people from the line of Durin to protect.

She hadn't realised how long she had been in the water, night had fallen already and a small brise made her shiver.  
She quickly got out of the water, dried herself up and put on some spare clothes that she had in her bag then started heading back towards the camp.

As she got closer and closer tough, she stopped for a few seconds. Something was wrong. Usually, she would have heard the dwarves' merry chattering and laughing from quite a distance but as she was approaching the camp, there was nothing but silence.  
She frowned, could they all be sleeping already? No, that was none sense, she might had stayed a bit longer than excepted in the water but not that long.

She started running towards the campement and when she arrived, she looked around her in concern.

"Hello?" she called.

All the dwarves' things were there, a fire had been turned on and was still burning with a big pot half-full with stew over it.  
Dishes were scattered on the floor, plates and bowls most of them still full of the stew that had been served.

Nothing could have worried her more than that. Only under very important circumstances would the dwarves have abandoned their dinners. She found no trace of blood, thankfully, and no weapons.  
She took her own sword, left her bag behind her and ran towards where Fili and Kili were supposed to keep the ponies.

"Fili?" she called "Kili!"

There was no one, only the ponies peacefully eating the grass.

"Where did they all go?" she asked, looking for her own pony.

It's only when she didn't find it that she realised some of them were missing.

"What on earth is going on here?" she muttered to herself.

As she started looking around her, she quickly found evident traces of the passage of the company. Obviously, they had been in a hurry…  
She followed their trace and didn't long to hear voices and see the light of a fire burning further away between low branches.  
She got closer as silently as she could and hiding behind some bushes, tried to figure out who were the owners of the voices she could hear.

Obviously, the dwarves were there. They were the loudest and seemed to be shouting all together words that she couldn't quite get from where she was.  
They weren't alone though, above the tumult of their voices came others and to be precise, three others.  
Risking a quick glance at them from her hiding place, her blood froze when she saw that the company had been captured by trolls.

_Three_ massive, ugly-looking trolls.


	6. Troubles

**Chapter V : Troubles **

"Let's just sit on them and squash them into jelly!" one of the trolls exclaimed.

Luna, still hiding behind the bushes, had listened to their conversation long enough to know that they were called Bert, William and Tom but she couldn't remember who was who. She had analysed the situation, trying to find out a way to get the dwarves and Bilbo out of there.  
Half of the group had been bound to a branch that the trolls were slowly turning above their fire in hope to cook them and the other half had been tied up and shoved into large sacks.  
Instinctively, her eyes had looked for the three dwarves she was to protect. Thorin and Kili were in the sacks and Fili was on the branch.

"They should be sauté and grilled with a sprinkle of sage" another troll replied.

"Never mind the seasoning! We ain't got all night, dawn ain't far away and I don't fancy being turned into stone"

"Wait!"

Luna startled at that last voice that had spoken up.

"You are making a terrible mistake!"

It was Bilbo! Luna looked up to a tall tree with plenty of thick branches a few feet away. If she wanted to get a better view of the scene without being seen and maybe get a better chance of attacking them at her advantage if it came to that, there seemed to be only one thing to do.  
Quietly slipping from her hiding spot, she silently crawled the short distance separating her from the tree then nimbly pulled herself up onto one of the lowest branches and climbed up to a branch that was high enough and ideally located to give a great view on the trolls' camp.

The hobbit had managed to get up and hop in his sack to get closer to the trolls.

"I mean with the seasoning" he went on.

"What about the seasoning?"

"Well have you smelt them? You're going to need something stronger than sage before you plate this lot up"

If the situation had not been so bad, Luna would have laughed. She tried to avoid looking at the dwarves' shocked expressions as they started raising their voices against the poor hobbit, not aware that he was trying to save them by playing for time.

"What do you know about cooking dwarves?" one troll asked.

Luna couldn't believe it, they were the stupidest creatures she had ever met. She tightened her grip around the hilt of her sword, ready to fall on them at any occasion.

"Shut up! Let the…furglarburgler hobbit talk" the cook snapped.

"The secret to cooking dwarves…" obviously, Bilbo had not think this through.

"Yes? Come on!"

"Yes, I'm telling you! The secret to cooking dwarves is to…skin them first!"

Luna's palm met with her forehead and the dwarves started to shout at the hobbit.

"Tom, get me the filleting knife"

"What a load of rubbish!" the third troll exploded. "I've eaten plenty with their skins on!"

"He's right!" the third troll exclaimed and he reached for the sack in which Bombur had been tied up and held it up in the air above his mouth.

"Nothing wrong with a bit of raw dwarf! Nice and crunchy!"

As he started lowering the poor Bombur towards his mouth, Luna decided it was time to intervene and without further thinking, jumped from her branch and fell into the air to land on the troll's massive forearm. Thankfully, she didn't catch the shocked expressions on the dwarves' faces as they saw her launching into the air, otherwise she would have laughed and lost her balance.

"Drop him!" she shouted and with her sword, sliced through his big hand holding the dwarf.

With a mixed cry of surprise and pain, he dropped Bombur and tried to get rid of that little stingy think crawling up his arm.

The two other trolls had jumped in surprise and one of them caught Luna in his fist. She choked at the pressure he was applying on her ribs, fearing they might crack.

"Luna!" Kili exclaimed.

"What is that?" the troll asked.

"I don't know, but it hurt me!"

"It doesn't even look good to eat. Not enough meat"

"Barely enough for a bite!"

The troll who was holding her raised his hand to his mouth to eat her but again, Bilbo prevented it from happening.

"Not that one!" he shouted. "She's infected!"

"You what?"

"She's got…worms…in her tubes." Bilbo made up his story so quickly himself looked shocked of what he had said.

It was convincing enough for the trolls tough and the one who was holding Luna threw her with disgust on the pile of dwarves in their sack.

"Ouch" Kili muttered as she landed on him, knocking his breath away.

"Sorry" she whispered, mentally checking that she hadn't broken anything.

"In fact the all have" the hobbit went on. "They're infected with parasites, I wouldn't risk it, I really wouldn't"

As the dwarves started once again shouting their disapproval, Luna rolled her eyes and gave Kili a small kick of her elbow. She met Thorin's eyes and saw that he had understood Bilbo's plan as well and as they all became aware that the hobbit wasn't trying to insult them, they suddenly started shouting in approval.

"I've got parasites as big as my arm!" Oïn exclaimed.

"Mine are the biggest parasites!" Kili cried out.

Luna shook her head and quickly took a little knife from her boot to start cutting the dwarves free from their bounds.

"What would you have us do then? Let them all go?!" the cook exclaimed.

"Well…" Bilbo now looked very convincing in his role.

"I am not letting our dinner run away!" the biggest troll exclaimed and taking notice of what Luna was doing, he grabbed her again and held her so tightly she cried out in pain.

"Put that one in the fire! I am sick of girls!"

"No!"

"Luna!"

"The dawn will take you all!"

They all turned to see Gandalf standing on top of a huge rock.

"Who's that?"

"No idea"

"Can we eat him too?"

And with that, the wizard brought his staff down on the boulder that cracked open, letting the light of the sun that was rising shine on the trolls that started to shout in pain.  
Luna quickly planted her little dagger into the hand of her opponent so that he would drop her before he turned into stone and she fell on her back, eyes wide open as the huge troll above her was turning into a statue.

There was a short silence then all the dwarves started to cheer and Bilbo sighted in relief. As Gandalf quickly climbed down the rock and went to help the dwarves out of their bonds, Kili jumped to his feet as soon as he was freed from his sack and ran to where Luna was still lying on the ground.

"Are you alright?" he asked, kneeling next to her and helping her into a sitting position.

"I'm fine" she replied, gently pushing his hands away. "Except that obviously I can't even go for a bath without you getting into troubles.'

That made him smile. She was alright.

"Well luckily, we have a squirrel warrior in the group it seems"

"A squirrel warrior? Really?"

"Your made quite a spectacular entrance jumping from that tree"

"Now I'm disappointed."

"Why?"

"A squirrel? Seriously? Couldn't you think of anything at least a little bit scarier?"

He chuckled.

"You're right, a squirrel is cute while you are just scary"

"You have no idea."

This time she returned his smile and gladly took Bombur's hand when he offered to help her up.

"Thank you Luna" he said.

"Anytime, Bombur"

Then he walked towards his brothers and as the dwarves were all gathering their things, Fili joined them and warmly clasped her on the shoulder.

"You lose points for managing to disgust an ugly and smelly troll and having him throwing you on a pile of other dwarves but you still win my greatest admiration thanks to your breathtaking entrance. I did not know dwarves could fly, are you sure you are not related to birds?" he grinned at her.

"Two minutes ago I was a squirrel, now I am a bird, you two really are good with metaphors"

"Wait, Kili called you a squirrel?"

He couldn't contain his laugh and ignored his brother's dark glance.

"Well, Luna, it sounds like my baby brother still have one or two things to learn when it comes to complimenting girls. Birds are a lot more poetic"

"Since when do you know anything about poetry?" she asked.

"Good point" Kili nodded.

"Say the two people who were able to hold their wooden swords before being able to properly spell book"

"Time passed, things changed" Luna noted.

He shrugged his shoulders.

"How was your bath?"

Luna's smile instantly faded away as she suddenly recalled what had happened earlier in the little pool.

_"Luna. Do it for me"_

She mentally shook herself up and forced the smile back on her face.

"Quite relaxing, thank you"

Fili raised an eyebrow. For a fraction of a second, her face had changed. He thought better to drop the subject for now though, he would confront her on that matter at another time when there won't be anyone around.

A bit further, Thorin stepped towards Gandalf who was looking at the statues of the three trolls.

"Where did you go to if I may ask?"

"To look ahead", the wizard simply answered.

"What brought you back?"

"Looking behind"

Thorin nodded, a little smile on his lips at the wizard's usual mysteriousness.

"Nasty business…still, we're all in one piece"

"Not thanks to your burglar" the dwarf snapped.

"He had the nerves to play for time. None of the rest of you thought of that!"

Thorin lowered his head, he had to admit it was true.

"Since when do mountain trolls come this far south?" he changed the subject.

"Oh, not for an age…they couldn't have moved in daylight"

"There must be a cave nearby"

* * *

After they had gone back to their campement to gather their things, they found the cave the trolls had been living in and decided to go and have a look at it.

"Oh, God…I am not going down there" Luna muttered as she was standing at the entry of the cave.

The smell that came out of it was so terrible it made her gag.

"I'll just wait here, you two go" she pushed Fili and Kili in front of her and stepped aside to let the others go in as well.

"Are you sure?" Fili asked.

"Leave her Fee, the lady doesn't fancy bad scents" Kili smirked.

"A wonder I cope with yours"

"I don't smell bad!" Kili looked gravely offended but his brother laughed and pushed him in front of him and they both followed the others.

Luna smiled to herself and then only noticed Bilbo who had remained behind as well and was sitting on a rock a few feet from the entrance of the cave. She made her way towards him and sat on the rock as well.

"So does it often happen to you? Making a good seasoning for dwarves?" she asked.

He blushed and gave her a little smile.

"That was very brave" she added. "And really smart"

"Not as brave as you jumping on a troll from a tree"

She frowned as he looked down. He actually looked sad.

"Bilbo, there is bravery in you, do you really doubt it?"

"Of course I doubt it. I am travelling with a group of warriors used to those kinds of things while I am just…" he sighted, "…just a hobbit"

"Well I think that 'just hobbits' are a rather remarkable folk"

He didn't seem convinced though.

"But don't you feel…fear once in a while?" he asked.

"What?"

"Aren't you ever scared?"

"Of course I am, Bilbo! We are all afraid sometimes, more than we will admit"

"You don't look like it though"

"When it comes to fear, you are given a choice my friend. You can either crawl into a ball and close your eyes or you can stand against it just like you did"

"You really think so?"

"I am convinced of it"

He shrugged his shoulders.

"You are braver than you think, master Baggins. It wasn't a coincidence Gandalf wanted you in this quest"

"How can you be so sure when I don't even know myself?"

"I just know" she put a hand on his shoulder and met his eyes. "I trust him and I trust you"

This time, the smile he offered her was a bit more convincing.

"Thank you"

The others didn't long to come out of the cave. Some were carrying pieces of the treasure they had probably found down there and she didn't fail to notice that Thorin had a nice-looking sword with him and so did Gandalf who walked in their direction.

"Bilbo!" he exclaimed, holding a dagger in its sheath, "This should be about your size"

The hobbit's eyes widened and he shifted uncomfortably.

"Gandalf, I can't take this"

"This blade is elvish-made, which means it will glow blue when orcs or gobelins are nearby"

"I've never used a sword in my life", he swallowed nervously.

"And I hope you never have to" Gandalf put the weapon in Bilbo's hands and leant a bit closer towards him. "Remember this, true courage is knowing not when to take a life, but knowing when to spare one"

The hobbit seemed about to say something but their attention was suddenly drawn to where the others had started to gather and were all looking around, nervous and holding their weapons ready for an attack. Something was coming, they could hear it crashing through the trees.

"Stay together!" Gandalf shouted, leaving the hobbit to his sword and taking his own out of its sheath.

"Come"Luna pressed the hobbit along to join the others and grabbed her twin blades, ready to fight any foe that would come out of the bushes.

As the noises came a lot closer, she suddenly pulled Kili out of the way just in time before a sled lead by no others than rabbits burst from between the trees and stopped in front of them.

"Thieves! Fire! Murder!" its rider cried out.

At that point, Luna was too stunned by the new arrivant to even think of defending herself if he tried to attack. He was wearing what might have once been a brown robe, similar to Gandalf's grey one but that was now nothing but a dirty old rage. He was wearing a funny-looking hat and his hair and long beard looked like a bird nest.

Even odder, Gandalf instantly lowered his sword and took quick steps towards him to warmly greet him.

"Radagast!" he exclaimed. "Radagast the Brown!"

The dwarves lowered their weapons but kept their eyes on the new arrivant, partly because they were suspicious even if he seemed to be in good terms with Gandalf and partly because they were still shocked by his entrance.

Bilbo vaguely remembered a conversation he had had with Gandalf a little while ago when they had been traveling under the rain and that he had asked about the existence of other wizards. _There are five of us_, his friend had answered. Saruman, two blues, himself and Radagast the Brown…yet he couldn't believe that that person who looked as if he had never seen a bath and was riding a sled pulled by rabbits could be as powerful and wise as Gandalf.

"What are you doing here?" Gandalf eyed his friend.

"I was looking for you Gandalf. Something is wrong, something is terribly wrong!"

Radagast opened his mouth as if to say what was causing him to worry then closed it and frowned.

"I had a thought and now I lost it" he muttered and Luna raised an eyebrow, not quite believing what she was witnessing.

"It was right here on the tip of my tongue! Oh!"

The brown wizard pulled his tongue out and she saw with disgust an insect crawling on it.

"It's not a thought at all! It's a stick insect!"

Luna shook her head then stepped away with the others, leaving the two wizards apart so that they could talk.

She sat on a rock and pushed her hair away from her face to notice Fili watching her.

"What?" she asked.

"Your hair…you have very beautiful curls but…"

"Don't even think about it" she stopped him, guessing his thought. Fili had something with braids, had always had from what she remembered when she was a child. Even at the time, he used to be irritated when she and Kili would come back from a day spent outside with tangled and messy hair.

"But you'd be so beautiful!" he insisted.

"Are you saying she's not?" Bofur grinned, piping in the conversation.

"No, of course but…if it was all put into a nice braid, you'd have it out of your face and that would look so nice on you. Luna, a young girl of noble birth like you can't just go around jumping on trolls with your hair not properly tied"

"That is the silliest argument I have ever heard in my whole life"

"But…"

"We've had this conversation already, I don't want to go through it another time, my hair don't need to be braided" she warned.

"Very well, just stay like that and you will end up with your hair as messy as Kili's"

"Hey! I hear you!"

"Let the girl be lad" Bofur said. "Someone will put a braid in her hair one day anyway"

"Who's that?" Bilbo innocently asked, not able to imagine who could be so bold as to force the young girl to stay still while they braided a strand of her hair.

"Her fiancee"

"When two dwarves get married, they put a braid in each other's hair to symbolise their love and their union" Balin gently explained.

"Are you…engaged?" the hobbit turned to the girl with wide eyes.

"No, I am not getting married" she gritted between her teeth. "Not now, not anytime soon and most likely never"

"What do you mean never?" Fili exclaimed.

"Really, lass? There might be a young dwarf out there who will in the future be the luckiest man ever, are you really going to take that chance away from him?" Bofur argued in a pleading voice.

"But if you don't marry…who will be the next captain?" Ori timidly asked. He too had gotten into the conversation.

Luna had seemed about to say something but paused at Ori's question. She had never thought about this until then…well, not exactly, she had already realised that she was the last of her line but hadn't thought further about the fact that after her, if she didn't have children of her own, the line of the captains would be over for good.

"Can we please stop talking about me getting married?" she simply asked on a tone implying that the conversation was over.

The dwarves didn't say more on the subject and instead started chatting together except for Kili. He had listened to the whole exchange and couldn't help but feel a bit sad although he couldn't explain why. From Luna's attitude, he took it she wasn't planning to marry anytime in her life and didn't even look like she wanted to have feelings for anyone. He didn't know why but while it confirmed what he had told Fili when they were watching the ponies, he still felt an odd pinch to his heart.  
He mentally shook himself up though, maybe that was just because he was sad that the girl didn't think optimistically about her future but he couldn't blame her with all that had happened to her.

He was suddenly drawn out of his thoughts by a long howl that broke all the dwarves' chattering.

"Was that a wolf?" Bilbo asked, fear clear in his voice as he got to his feet and looked around him. "Are there wolves around here?"

"No that isn't a wolf" Bofur answered.

At those words, a giant warg appeared into view from behind the trees and leapt for Luna who was the closest. Kili had the wits to draw his bow on time though and the beast fell under his arrows.

He briefly met her eyes before a second warg appeared and was killed as quickly.

"Warg scouts!" Thorin cursed beneath his breath. "Which means an orc pack is not far behind"

"Orc pack?!" Bilbo repeated, his face turning pale.

"Who did you tell about your quest, beyond your kin?!" Gandalf exclaimed, coming back towards the dwarves with Radagast following close.

"No one"

"Who did you tell?!"

"No one I swear!"

"What in Durin's name is going on?"

"You are being haunted" the grey wizard darkly announced.

"We have to get out of here"

"We can't! We have no ponies!" Ori exclaimed.

"I'll draw them off!" Radagast piped in, a look of determination on his funny face that would have made Luna laugh if the situation had not been so bad.

"These are Gundabad wargs, they will outrun you" Gandalf protested.

"These are Rosghobel rabbits!" his friend fiercely argued. "I'd like to see them try!"

"What? What's happening…who…what does that mean?" Bilbo pleaded but only Luna seemed to hear him.

"It means we're in trouble…again" she answered.


	7. The rescue

**Chapter VI : The rescue**

Luna couldn't believe it at first but Radagast's diversion actually seemed to work : the orcs took in pursuing him, clearing the way for them.

"Go!" Gandalf exclaimed and they all followed him as he lead them out of the safety of the forest into the big plain that stretched as far as the eye can see before them with only a few rocks and trees here and there to offer shelter.

"Stay together!"

It was almost unnecessary to say for none of them would have thought of walking away on his own as the sometimes distant and sometimes close howls of the wargs chasing Radagast made their hearts pounding violently in their chests.

They ducked behind a large boulder when they heard that the pack was coming closer again and waited for a few seconds then burst out of their hiding place again.

It seemed to last an eternity : they were constantly running and abruptly changing direction according to the distance separating them from the orcs then finding shelter behind rocks or trees whenever the pack was too close but never long enough to catch their breaths and then they went on again.

"This way!" Gandalf exclaimed after they had once again been hiding behind a rock.

"Where are you leading us?" Thorin growled, suspecting the wizard to take them to a place where by all means he did not wish to go.

The Gandalf's not answering made him even angrier but it wasn't a proper time to argue and he started running again with the others.

Trapped, they were trapped, that's all Luna could think of. They should never have left the forest, there at least they could remained unseen with a bit of luck but on this vast plain, there was no way the orcs wouldn't end up catching them and Radagast didn't seem able to draw them off for good.  
What did the wizard had in mind as he lead them to what seemed to be an dead-end, she did not know, all she could hope for was that they would manage to get far enough from the pack once for all.

Shooting a quick glance at Bilbo, she saw that all colours had drained from his face and terror was filling his eyes with a feverish gleam. Only adrenaline was making him able to run along with the others but at least, it was better than having him totally unable to move.

"Ori, no!" Thorin shouted, grabbing the young dwarf scribe by the back of his coat to pull him back behind a large rock before he got himself into their pursuers' view. They waited for a few seconds then went on again but not for long : the pack was far too close this time and Luna let out a small gasp as she brusquely flattened herself against another big rock.

Although they could all feel their hearts racing and desperately needed to catch their breaths, they didn't dare make any sound as they felt a warg that had separated from the pack to climb on top of the boulder behind which they were hiding and was smelling their presence.

Thorin turned his eyes to Kili and slowly nodded. His nephew silently fitted an arrow into his bow, took in a deep breath then stepped out of his hiding place and shot the warg straight in the neck.  
When the orc who had been riding it fell off his dying monture, he was greeted by Dwalin and Bifur's axes who quickly finished him off but not quickly enough to keep him quiet unfortunately and his loud agonising cries were heard hundreds of meters around, not escaping the rest of the pack that instantly left Radagast to come after them.

"Run! Move!" Gandalf shouted.

They ran again, faster than ever if that was even possible, but they didn't get the chance to go far this time, quickly they could see orcs coming from every direction.

"There they are!" Gloïn exclaimed.

"We're surrounded!" Fili cried out, unsheathing his sword and running to where the company was huddling together, ready to fight.

_And so the trap closes_, Luna thought, firmly grabbing her twin blades as she saw the enemies getting closer and closer all around them.

"Where is Gandalf?"

"He's abandoned us!" Dwalin exclaimed.

The young girl quickly looked around for the wizard and indeed, saw no sign of him anywhere yet she didn't believe for a second he had abandoned them like that.

"Kili, stay back!" she growled as she saw him stepping forward to take a better aim at a warg with his bow.

While at least Thorin and Fili were closer to the group, Kili and her were a bit further.

"Hold your ground!" Thorin shouted.

Ori managed to hit a warg with a rock but the beast didn't even seem to bother and kept on getting dangerously close.

Luna shot her darkest glance at an orc who was evilly grinning at her a few meters in front of her and braced herself for a fight, no matter how desperate it seemed.

At that moment, Gandalf's head snapped up from behind a rock.

"This way, you fools!" he shouted at them and the company all started to run towards him and as they reached the place where he was standing, they found a rocky slope descending to what looked like an underground cave in which they eagerly jumped.

Thorin stayed on the edge of the slope to make sure everyone was there and saw Kili and Luna still standing further, facing the orcs.

"Kili! Luna!" he shouted.

Luna snapped her head back and briefly nodded to Thorin.

"Kili, run!" she ordered.

"I"m not leaving you"

"Run you stubborn reckless dwarf!"

She grabbed a little dagger she kept on her belt and threw it at the warg that was the closest and hit it straight in the eye. As it howled in pain, she turned around and grabbed Kili's hand to start running as fast as she could to where Thorin was still standing.

The slope was so close…and yet, as she could hear the thundering sound of the warg she had hit galloping after them, followed by the others of its pack, she feared they would never make it on time.

"Run, don't look back!" she yelled at Kili.

He obeyed and tightened his grip on her hand. Luna could feel the warg' s hot breath on her neck. There they were, the slope, fifty centimetres more and…she hissed in pain as she felt the beast's teeth digging into her shoulder and with all the strengths she had left, she freed her hand from Kili's at the very last second and pushed him as hard as she could towards Thorin, hard enough to have them fall down the slope into the safety of the cave.

Not stopping her movement, she turned around and with a cry, embedded the blade she was still holding into the warg's scull just behind her, forcing him to release her. Before the wolf died though, it shook its head in pain so violently that she was sent flying into the air to land a few meters further where she lied on the ground for a few seconds, knocked out by the violence of the shock and the pain in her shoulder that was quickly spreading to her whole arm.

She didn't get much time to rest though : only a few seconds later, an orc was above her, its blade aimed at her throat. She quickly reached for her sword but it had been sent flying away in another direction. The orc gave her an evil smile then suddenly froze when he saw the white moon-shaped scar on her face and his eyes widened.

She took advantage of his short distraction to kick him off her with her feet then rolled on the ground to a safer distance and got back on her feet, trying to push the searing pain in her shoulder away. She swallowed nervously as she looked around her. The orcs were surrounding her, mounted on their abominable beasts, she had a totally useless arm and was alone now.

* * *

Down in the cave, Gandalf was counting the dwarves when Kili and Thorin came sliding down the slope in their turn.

Kili quickly got to his feet and turned around with a little smile on his lips to make a comment to Luna about how close it had been this time but his smile instantly faded when he saw she was not there.

"Luna!" he exclaimed.

Thorin looked behind as well and his face paled. He had seen that she was pushing Kili towards him at the last second but hadn't seen that she had stayed to hold the warg back.

"She is still up there! Luna!"

Kili was now really shouting and trying to find a way to climb the slope back up which quickly proved impossible.

"We need to help her!"

The others looked in a shocked silence at the entry of the cave, hoping to see the young girl slide down the slope in her turn but nothing came but the noises of the wargs.

"What happened?" Gandalf exclaimed.

The dwarf's eyes were locked on the top of the slope.

"She pushed us in…but didn't follow. There was a warg behind her, it…" he swallowed. "I think it got her"

"No!" Kili shouted, fear and anger clear in his voice. "She is up there, we need to go back!"

"That's impossible, we can't climb back up" Gandalf scolded.

Kili opened his mouth to protest again in anger. He who was never getting mad at anyone for anything, he was now shaking with rage and worry.  
Before he could say a word though, they heard the sound of a horn up in the plain and they all looked up at the ouverture of the cave. It was definitely not an orc-made horn.

A body suddenly fell down the slope and landed at their feet. The dwarves briefly held their weapons towards him but it was useless, he was dead. An arrow has pierced his throat and Thorin took a look at it.

"Elves" he spat in disgust, throwing the arrow away.

Most of the dwarves frowned but Gandalf's face suddenly lit up.

"Alright then, I suggest we move on" he said in a lighter tone.

"What? But…Luna…" Kili started.

"There is nothing we can do for her now but if she is alright, which I don't doubt she is, she is now safe with the elves who probably just attacked the orc pack. This cave is the entrance to a path that will take us to Rivendell where I am confident we will find her" the wizard told him.

Kili didn't answer but didn't move either as the others started making their way into the narrow path at the bottom of the cave.

"Come" Fili told him as they were the last two standing where they had arrived.

"What if she…what if the elves were too late?"

Fili sighted and put his hand on his brother's shoulder.

"The squirrel warrior is tougher than it looks" he simply answered, not able to find any more reassuring words as himself wasn't entirely convinced.

* * *

Luna had a bow strapped on her back that she quickly drew and fitted an arrow into it, aiming at the orc in front of her and trying to ignore the pain in her arm.

"Stay where you are or this arrow will fly" she warned, feeling the warm blood running down her skin beneath her clothes.

That made the orcs laugh.

"Before we kill you, what is your name?" the one in front of her asked.

She sharpened her eyes, she knew that wasn't an innocent question asked just for the pleasure of taking their time before killing her. She had noticed how the orc had looked in shock at the scar on her cheek a few moments ago, it wasn't a hazard. The orcs had assumed she was dead with her father and brother. The pack that had been sent to kill them that night had then been hunted down so fiercely that none had survived. The others probably just thought the dwarves had killed them to claim their revenge over the murders of Laïn and his children, and that was not entirely false, but the main reason had also been so that they wouldn't report their masters that Luna had survived.  
She couldn't fully remember it yet but she knew that she had spent days, maybe even weeks running away from them in the forest before arriving in front of her friends' house. The pack had followed her too close to the dwarves' and after she woke up, she had learned that none of her pursuers had survived.

"Why? Do you keep a list of the people you kill?"

"Only those as pretty as you"

That made her want to throw up and she fired her arrow that embedded itself straight in the orc's heart. All the others leapt for her at the same time and she expected to die but suddenly, the sound of a horn had them all stop where they were. Snapping her head back, Luna saw a group of riders arriving at great speed and soon, arrows started flying towards the pack.

The wargs started running here and there and Luna took advantage of the rush that had suddenly occurred to dive to where her twin blades had landed and jumped to her feet just on time to slay an orc that had followed her despite the riders coming for them.

Another warg jumped towards her, baring its teeth but was killed by an arrow in the middle of its jump and landed dead on the ground.

"Elves", Luna muttered, watching as the group of riders started chasing the orcs that were still alive and trying to get away.

She turned her glaze to the rock beneath which the rocky slope was hidden but as she stepped towards it, decided to join her companions before the elves could question her presence here, a horse barred her way.

She looked up to see a tall elf sitting on it. He was pointing an arrow at her but lowered his weapon when their eyes met.

"Who are you?" he murmured.

She was saved from answering when the other elves started gathering around her as well and one of them suddenly broke their rank. He was nobly dressed and Luna instantly guessed his identity.

"Lord Elrond" she said in a voice as neutral as she could.

It could only be him, there was only one elven lord living around here, in the valley of Imladris, and although she had never personally met him, she had learned a great deal about him from her father who had instructed his children about all the important people of Middle-Earth, dwarves or not, and when it came to Elrond, Laïn had always shown respect and even kindness for as strange as it had always appeared, the two lords had been very good friends when Thror ruled under the mountain.

"You know me yet I don't recall meeting you" the elf said.

"My father used to speak of you a lot"

"Who is your father?"

She looked up at him and his eyes widened.

"Luna?" he asked.

She nodded. He kneeled in front of her and put a hand on her valid shoulder.

"I have been told you died with your father and brother in an orc attack"

"Yes, but I escaped."

"Did Laïn…?"

She shook her head.

"It is a pleasure to know that his line is not extinct yet and to meet you. What are you doing in these parts?"

She hesitated for a brief moment, wondering whether it was wise to tell him about Thorin and the others but then decided that if her father had trusted this elf and counted him amongst his friends, she could do the same and told him how she was traveling with the company of dwarves plus a hobbit and a wizard and how they had been running from the orcs in the plain before finding the cave where she hadn't had the time to hide. She only omitted the reason of their quest for now, judging that she was not the one he should hear it from.

"Then it was no hasard they found the cave, Gandalf lead you all there to take a safer way to Rivendell. Come, they will follow the hidden pass and arrive soon, we will meet them there."

"My lord Elrond, the lady is hurt"

Elrond's eyes flashed to her injury on her shoulder.

"I'm fine" she lied. "It can wait until we reach Rivendell"

The elven lord nodded then stood up and exchanged a few words in elvish with the elf that had first stopped her.

"Haleth will ride with you" he turned towards her again then walked off to his own horse and started leading his riders back to Imladris.

The elf he had spoken with dismounted from his horse.

"Do you mind, my lady?" he courteously asked.

She shook her head and he gently picked her up to sit her on the horse then sat behind her, taking the reins with one hand and putting his other arm around her waist to hold her.

"I am not a lady" she couldn't help clarifying.

He looked down at her with surprise as they followed the others and smiled.

"How shall I call you then?" he asked.

She raised her brows in surprise. She hadn't excepted him to call her anything at all.

"Just Luna", she answered.

"Well it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance then, Luna."

"The pleasure is mine…" she found herself answering and let her phrase in suspens, not able to recall the name Elrond had called the elf.

"Haleth" he finished for her with another smile.

* * *

Either they rode very fast or the trip was very short because before she even realised they had left the plain, Luna found herself surrendered by mountains again, in one of the most beautiful valleys she had ever seen.

The little group quickly made their way on narrow bridges leading to lord Elrond's home, Rivendell, and as they neared it, she quickly saw the company of dwarves huddling together on a large plateforme when they saw the riders arriving.

They closed their ranks and tightened their grips on their weapons as the elves started circling them and Luna rolled her eyes when she saw they so defiant.

"Lord Elrond!" Gandalf exclaimed when he saw his friend arriving as well.

The elf dismounted and warmly embraced the wizard as they exchanged a few words in elvish.

"Strange for orcs to come so close to our borders. Something or someone might have drawn them near" he finished his phrase in the common tongue.

"Ah, that may have been us" Gandalf innocently admitted.

Elrond turned to the dwarves and Thorin stepped forward, eyeing him cautiously.

"Welcome Thorin, son of Thraïn" he greeted.

"I do not believe we have met"

"You have your grandfather's bearings. I knew Thror when he ruled under the mountain."

"Indeed? He made no mention of you"

To Luna's relief, Elrond did not seem upset by the dwarf's coldness, instead it almost seemed to amuse him.

It's only at that moment that Kili who had been the only one not staring at the elf but instead searching for a sign of Luna that he finally found her, sitting on one of the last arriving horses with an elf.

"Luna!" he cried out, rushing towards her.

The dwarves snapped their heads in her direction as well, relief and big smiles on their faces.

"We found her where she left you, near the hidden pass" Elrond announced. "I thought you might want to have her back"

Despite everything, Thorin gave him a small nod of remerciement.

Haleth dismounted then carefully lifted the young girl to put her down and Kili couldn't stop himself from hugging her tightly, only releasing her when she let out a small gasp of pain.

"You are hurt!"

"Hush, I'm okay"

The dwarves had turned again to Elrond who pronounced a few words in elvish.

"What is he saying? Is he offering us insult?" Gloin exclaimed, raising his axe.

"No, master dwarf, he is offering you food!" Gandalf exclaimed, obviously irritated.

The dwarves looked at each other for a few seconds, exchanged a few words then turned towards Elrond again.

"Well then…lead on"


	8. Rivendell

_**Hi everyone! First of all, Merry Christmas! ^_^  
Thank you for favouriting/following/reviewing my story, it really makes me happy to see that you guys enjoy it, and I would like to give a particular thanks to Artemis, I am very glad you like it that much! I hope you will continue enjoying it, please keep telling me what you think (and that of course goes for all of you, I'm always happy to read your comments!)  
Enjoy this chapter :) **_

* * *

**Chapter VII : Rivendell**

"This is going to hurt, stay still" Oïn warned.

"I am fine, it's…Ouch!"

Luna looked at the big blood-covered tooth the healer had just pulled out of her flesh.

"That's not what I call fine" Kili growled.

While the others had gone eating, Oïn had stayed in the room that had been given the company to have a look at Luna's injured shoulder and Fili and Kili hadn't wanted to leave her despite all her protestations.

She looked away, carefully averting her eyes from the wound that looked worst than she had thought now that Oïn had bared it. Other people's wounds had never bothered her, strangely, but she was a bit more sensitive when it came to herself.

"Why on earth would you do such a thing?" Kili scolded. All the relief and happiness he had shown when she had arrived with the elves had now turned into a bit of anger.

"A simple thank you would have been enough" she replied on the same tone.

"You almost killed yourself!"

"_Thank you for saving my life, Luna, otherwise I would just have died a ridiculous death trying to shoot down a whole orc pack with my bow like a little elf_"

Kili's jaw dropped in surprise and he wasn't able to find his words for a few seconds then exploded.

"Isn't that exactly how YOU almost died?! Fool of a woman! I sometimes wonder what goes through your stubborn head!"

"Well maybe if you ran when you are told to, those kinds of things wouldn't happen!" she cried out but Kili had already angrily walked out of the room.

They looked at the place where he had been standing a few seconds earlier then Fili turned to the young girl.

"That was actually a bit mean", he said in a soft voice.

"I just don't…Ouch!" "

"Sorry" Oïn vaguely said, looking at a second tooth he had pulled out of her shoulder.

"I just don't get it, it's not like when we were children and we would put ourselves in dangerous situations without realising it just to have fun…this time, I know what the dangers are and I do it to protect him. It sounded like he thought I had just done it for my pleasure!" she exclaimed.

"It's not that…"

"Then what is it?"

"Kili…he really likes you, you know. When you didn't join us down in the cave, I thought for a moment he would go mad. I have lived with him my entire life, never being separated from him and know him better than anyone so believe me when I say I had never seen him so angry and desperate. He cares for you more than he wants to admit and his apparent anger is just the worry he felt for you coming up as an aftermath"

"Still…"

She was very disappointed in Kili's anger. She asked for nothing of course, she didn't even actually want to hear any thanks but she didn't want him to be angry at her like that either. She couldn't explain why but having him angry at her affected her more than she would have thought.

Fili warmly squeezed her hand and gave her a soft smile.

"Don't worry about him, Luna, he will calm down soon enough"

As she wasn't looking at him, he gently tipped her chin up to look into her eyes.

"Thanks for saving my brother's life"

"I was just doing my job" she answered.

* * *

When Kili left the room, he didn't go far before almost bumping into someone walking in the opposite direction at the end of the corridor.  
He looked up to see the elf that had been riding with Luna earlier when they had arrived in Rivendell and he didn't know why but it did nothing to ease his anger to find him here, obviously heading towards the room he had just left.

"What do you want?" he asked, more dryly than he wished.

"I am looking for the lady Luna" the elf politely answered though he raised an eyebrow.

_Lady_. This elf was very irritating.

"Let her be, she is quite alright"

"No thanks to you"

Kili could feel his anger boiling inside him and knew it would do him no good to stay here.

"Do not intrude on her" he spat then walked away.

Haleth watched him go then walked in the room and found Luna sitting with two other dwarves who were helping with her wound. He cleared his throat and the three of them noticed he was there.

"My lord Elrond sent me to check on the lady Luna and lets you know that if there is anything you need to heal her, you can ask for it anytime." he announced.

"We have everything we could need" Oïn grumbled in his beard.

"Thank you Haleth", the young girl answered with a smile. She was actually glad to see him.

"Also, I am here to escort you to the dinner if you are ready"

"Can we still go and eat?"

"Of course, you are our guests"

Oïn finished putting a bandage around her shoulder and looked at his work with pride.

"It will be fine, you were lucky but try not to use your arm too much for a few days" he said, packing up his material.

"Thanks Oïn"

She quickly put her clothes over her shoulder again and made a move to get on her feet when a hand suddenly appeared in front of her, offering to help her up.

She was only half-surprised to find Haleth facing her with a smile and she gladly let him help her up. Although she didn't really need it, it was nice for once to have someone offering such delicate attentions, contrary to what Kili had just done.

"If my lady allows me…" he said, this time offering her arm.

She ignored Fili's raised eyebrow and took it.

"Thank you but didn't I say already I wasn't a lady?"

"You beauty prevents me from calling you otherwise"

She looked down to hide her blushing cheeks.

"Well then, let's go"

* * *

The dinner was quite fine and even though the dwarves complained about the lack of meat, they all ate and chatted merrily. Luna tried to avoid Kili's eyes the whole time but that wasn't easy regarding they were sitting almost in front of each other. She had caught another glimpse of anger and irritation in his eyes when he had seen her arriving with Haleth so had decided to simply ignore him.  
Everything actually went alright for a while, even the young prince seemed to relax and Dwalin who was sitting just in front of him, besides Luna, caught him blinking at an elf maid behind him at some point.  
When Kili noticed he was being watched, he searched Luna's glance for a second then quickly looked down to his plate.

"I can't say I fancy elf maids myself, they're just creamy skins and high cheekbones" he said as if to justify himself.

Another elf passed behind him and he discreetly peeped a look behind his back.

"Although this one is not half bad" he added with a smirk.

Luna rolled her eyes, irritated. Was he seriously pretending to like elf maids because she had arrived holding Haleth's arm?

"That is not an elf maid" Dwalin informed him.

Kili's head snapped to the elf he had been peeping a look at and when he turned around, it was indeed a male.

The young dwarf's face turned bright red as the others around him started to laugh, including Luna who thought he had well-deserved this.

The end of the dinner went very well after that and the night had already fallen when the dwarves went back to the room they had been assigned to sleep. Only Thorin, Balin, Bilbo and Gandalf didn't follow them as they had to go and speak with lord Elrond of more important matters. When they had left the table and that Luna had seen them walking away in another direction, she had given a questioning glance to Thorin who had slightly shaken his head with a little smile as if to say that she could go and take a well-deserved sleep. She could not deny that she was very happy to be able to go to sleep at last, she was exhausted.

As she unpacked her things and unrolled her blanket, Fili came to do the same next to her, followed as always by Kili who didn't seem angry anymore but guilty and ashamed of himself.

"How is your arm, my lady?" Fili smirked at her.

Both Kili and her shot him a dark look.

"Please don't" she begged in a tired voice.

"Alright, alright, sorry. But seriously, how is your arm?"

"It's fine, I swear"

"I'm glad to hear it"

She gave her a little smile then lied down and barely had the time to wrap herself in the blanket before falling asleep.

_"__Close your eyes. You are the captain of the royal guard of Erebor, standing besides your king's throne. An envoy from another kingdom has arrived quite late the night before and now their diplomat is having an audience with the king with his personal guards around him as he speaks with the king."_

_Luna let her father's words enter her mind and create the images before her eyes. The throne, the king, the diplomat and his guards, Erebor…she didn't remember what Erebor looked like, she had been a new-born baby when Smaug took the mountain so the images she was trying to picture in her mind were purely created with what she had been described of it by the other dwarves. _

_Her brother Lunkin was standing next to her, doing the same exercice. It was probably easier for him, he didn't have to try to imagine what Erebor would look like, he just had to recall it. Plus, he was older and had already much more experience than her, he would definitely make a great captain someday. _

_"__Luna!" _

_She suddenly came back to reality and opened her eyes to find Laïn watching her, obviously irritated. _

_"__Once again, you weren't listening. What did I just asked?" _

_She looked down. _

_"__I don't know, father"_

_"__I said : the diplomat is speaking to the king, what do you do?" _

_"__I…I observe the way he acts and his guards' attitude, I try to find out whether they might be ill-intentioned" _

_"__No" _

_She swallowed and gave a quick look to her brother. _

_Laïn sighted. _

_"__The envoy arrived the night before. You have a whole guard at your command who are sworn to protect the king. Between the moment of their arrival and the moment of the audience, you have had plenty of time to find out about their intentions. If they were bad, you would already have had them revealed and kicked out of the kingdom already. What you do now during the audience is simply to make sure everything goes as planned and keep an eye on the guards just in case to be ready to intervene at the first sign of danger."_

_She nodded. _

_"__Yes, father" _

_"__You need to concentrate, a captain is always watchful and aware of everything that happens within the mountain, and even of some things happening beyond it" _

_"__But father, why do I need to do all this? Lunkin will be the captain, he is ready and he will be a great captain while I will never be" _

_"__If something happens to Lunkin then you will be the captain and in that case, you need to be trained for it" _

_"__But what could happen to Lunkin? We have been hiding in this valley for decades, never daring to step out of it! Shouldn't a captain be at his king's side at all times, no matter the danger and even more when there is actually a danger? That's why you keep telling us and yet we haven't seen the king for years!"_

_Luna instantly regretted her words. She looked down at her feet again, excepting her father to scold her but nothing came. _

_"__Father, I'm…I'm sorry, please forgive me" _

_Laïn shook his head. _

_"__We are here because the orcs are still after us, they will always be and while we don't go back to the lonely mountain, it is not the king they will want to see dead, it is us. If the captains die, the king will be unprotected and easier to kill. Until Thorin calls upon us to go back to Erebor, we remain here. Training is over" _

_And with that, he turned his heels and walked away, leaving Luna to her thoughts and regrets. _

_"__I know how you feel" Lunkin said. _

_She looked across to him._

_"__I wasn't supposed to be the captain either. Logan was"_

_She bit her lip at the mention of their older brother. _

_"__You were too young to understand at the time and you haven't seen it but trust me Luna, the last thing you want is to have those orcs finding you. I saw them at the gates of Moria, I saw them in the ambush that killed Logan" _

_He took a few steps towards her and put a hand on her shoulder. _

_"__I too want to leave this valley and discover new things, see new places and meet new people. But trust me, if the orcs are still out there looking for us, I'd much rather stay here and wait Thorin's orders" _

_"__We could go, rally the old guard and slay those orcs. A captain never runs from a fight, right?" _

_"__Nor does he look for one when it is wiser to avoid it" _

_He gave a deep sight and squeezed her shoulder. _

_"__There used to be an old saying in Erebor…If the captains fall, then the line of Durin will be no more. History seems to have linked our line with theirs, it is just an old saying but I do believe there is truth in it. If the orcs manage to kill us, the word will spread amongst them and eventually to the whole world that there is nothing standing between them and the king anymore. You remember your friends Fili and Kili, right? You don't want to see them die, do you?"_

_She shook her head. _

_"__If you don't do it for us, do it for them" _

The images of her dream blurred and melted into another scene.

_She slowly opened her eyes and the first thing she felt was a searing pain flashing in her whole body. She slowly realised that she was underneath something heavy and needed some air. It took her a lot of efforts but she managed to extirpate herself from the rumbles of her home and looked around her. _

_It was still night and a few flames were consuming themselves on the ruins of the house. She wondered how she had survived when it had all collapsed. The grass around the ruins was red with the blood of all the dwarves who laid dead on the ground, killed by the orcs and underneath the wrecks she was standing on were buried the bodies of her father and brother. _

_Tears starting dropping down her face and only then did she realise that she was clutching onto something : her father's sword. _

_She looked down at herself, she had lost the ring of her family in the fight or in the burning house and she was covered in blood and ashes. Her arm was hurting the most and she saw that a piece of wood from the house had opened her skin from her collar bone to her elbow when it had collapsed. _

_She was in a very pitiful state, unable to think properly and barely able to walk but she couldn't stay here.  
Not even trying to contain her tears, she slowly made her way out of the ruins and between the dozens of bodies lying on the grass then into the forest that would take her out of the valley and towards a house where she had hoped to go back to ever since she had last seen it almost seventy years ago._

Luna woke up so suddenly she had to bite her fist to prevent herself from crying out and wake the others up as well.  
_  
_She held her hands together to try and stop her shaking and tried to steady her breathing. She startled when she felt a hand on her shoulder and spun around to find Kili watching her with a concerned look on his face.

"Ki…Kili…", she muttered.

He put a finger on his lips and gave a small nod towards the others who were all sleeping then stood put, lifted her up on her feet and took her hand to lead her out of the room.

They walked to a little terrace that gave quite a great view of the valley even at night and sat down on some steps.

"Are you okay?" Kili asked.

"Yes…it was just a dream, I'm sorry"

"Don't be. Did you see the orcs?"

She looked down at her hands resting in her lap.

"Luna?"

"I think I'm starting to remember"

Kili looked at her, unsure of what to do then put his arm around her shoulder and held her close to him and she snuggled against his chest.

They had done this a thousand times and yet both of them oddly felt a bit awkward, as if they were strangers who had just met. They avoided the other's eyes to hide their blushing cheeks. It was weird, it shouldn't be that way. They had always played together, fought, hugged and crawled next to each other to sleep at night and yet, at this very moment, it felt as if all that had never happened.

"I am with you" Kili whispered.

"I know"

A little moment of silence passed and comfort came back between them. Luna secretly wished this moment would never end, she was listening to Kili's heart beating in his chest and it was the most relaxing sound she had ever heard.  
The young prince didn't wish for less ; the same morning he had feared he might never see her again and now that she was between his arms, he didn't want to let her go for all the gold in Erebor. He rested his chin on her head, her curls soft against his skin and he closed his eyes.

"I am sorry for what I said and how I acted earlier" he said after a little while.

She gently left his arms and looked at him.

"I was just…stupid" he added, regretting that she hadn't stayed against him.

"No, I shouldn't have said what I said either. But you need to understand this, Kili, what I do, I do it to protect you, Fili and Thorin. When I tell you to run, you have to trust me"

"But I don't want to lose you. I was so worried this morning when you didn't follow us into the cave. If something had happened to you, I wouldn't have been able to forgive myself"

She chuckled.

"I'm sorry but this is something you will have to accept. I protect you. You can't reverse the roles. You know I can handle myself, right?"

He gave her a little smile. Their little moment of sweet awkwardness had passed and the usual good mood between them had come back.

"Just promise me you will stop doing crazy things" he said.

"I promise to stop doing crazy things if they are not necessary"

"Well it's a start, I guess…"

She grinned at him.

"So there you are!" a voice suddenly exclaimed behind them.

Snapping their heads back, they found Fili standing there, watching them with a little smirk on his face.

"Am I intruding on something?" he asked with a cheeky grin.

"No!" the both exclaimed at the same time, causing his grin to grow wider.

"Well then…"

He came and sat on the other side of Luna.

"Did you two make peace?" he asked.

Luna smiled and Kili nodded.

"I'm glad to hear it. I'm sorry my baby brother annoyed you, my lady"

She gave him a little kick with her elbow.

"Stop it"

"Sorry, my lady"

Kili couldn't contain a laugh.

"So what's with that elf?" he asked.

"There's nothing with Haleth"

"Mmh, Haleth, right? Does he actually remember your name too or does he keep calling you a lady for the pleasure of courting you?" Fili teased her.

"Nobody is courting anyone"

"_Your beauty prevents me from calling you otherwise_, yeah sure, you must definitely hear that everyday. Isn't that how Bombur greets you every morning?"

"Wait, did he actually tell her that?" Kili exclaimed with a sheepish smile on his face.

"At least he knows how to speak to women, mister squirrel" she noted.

"Maybe he could teach you, Kee"

Kili tried to kick his brother above Luna sitting between them.

"Hey!" she exclaimed, separating them. "Enough about him, we will be leaving soon anyway"

"But if we weren't, would you let him do?"

"Fili, no"

"Too bad for him"

"He wasn't courting me. What's with you two? These days you always speak of me getting into a relationship"

"Well, we are traveling across Middle-Earth with a very beautiful girl who will certainly catch the eyes of more than one man. We have to make sure you end up with someone worthy of you"

Despite everything, that made her smile and brought a feeling of warmth to her heart.  
She put her arms around their shoulders and brought them towards her until their foreheads touched.

"I don't know what I'd do without you two"

"Manage to jump into the cave on time?" Fili couldn't help himself and she gently banged their heads together.

"Silly princes" she sighted with a little laugh.


	9. The road still lies long

**Chapter VIII : The road still lies long**

The orc slowly made his way on top of the hill where his master was waiting for him in the ruins of the old watchtower. Other orcs and their wargs watched him pass with evil smiles, they all knew he wasn't bringing good news to their leader and that it would give them quite a show.

When he arrived in the old ruins, he was there, turning his back on him, watching the plain where night had fallen, his giant white warg always close to him. The orc swallowed nervously as the beast growled at him and he brought his attention back to the big white Gundabad orc he had come to see ; Azog the Defiler.

"The dwarves, master…" he started in black speech, trying to keep a calm and steady voice, "…we lost them"

The white wolf bared its teeth and he didn't dare to step any closer. He could hear the growls of the other beasts behind him.

"Ambushed by elvish filth, we were…" he tried to defend himself.

"I don't want excuses" Azog snapped in a deep and terrifying voice, using the same language as him.

He turned around to face his lieutenant and the orc felt his blood freezing in his veins.

"I want the head of the dwarf king" he said, making his way towards him.

"We were outnumbered…there was nothing we could do"

The orc knew it was vain, he had failed Azog and the Defiler was not of a forgiving nature. Worst of all, that wasn't all he had to announce and he could tell that what he was about to add was going to make the situation even worse.

"Master…amongst the dwarves, there was a…a girl" he mumbled.

Azog's eyes sharpened.

"She had a moon-shaped scar on her face…a scar left by dragon fire"

The giant Gundabad orc watched him from all his height, clenching his fist.

"That's impossible. Their captain was killed and his filthy children died with him" he gritted between his teeth in a tone so threatening that even the wargs behind slightly backed away.

"His daughter must have survived one way or another…but she is just a girl, she will be easy to get rid off! Who is she to cause you worry? Just a filth, just a little girl, she…aargh!"

Azog had suddenly grabbed him by the throat, lifting him up from the ground.

"Just a little girl you say, yet she survived and is now standing on my way to Oakenshield. Have you forgotten what the captains did to our people?"

"No! Master, let me go, I will bring you her head, I promise! I always fight for you…today, I barely escaped with my life!"

"Far better you had…paid with it" Azog whispered then threw the orc away for the wargs to devour.

He then turned towards the other orcs who were watching him with fear clear on their faces.

"The dwarf-scum will show themselves soon enough. Send out word…there is a price on their heads. Bring me the girl!"

* * *

"Ah, Luna!" Bilbo exclaimed, finding her sitting down on a little bench under a porch. "Do you know where the others are?"

"They all went for a bath"

"For a bath? Where?"

"I dare not tell you…", she sighted, "but I think the elves won't be very happy to find out"

The hobbit gave her a questioning look but she just shrugged her shoulder.

"Why were you looking after them anyway?" she asked as he sat next to her.

"Oh, nothing, I was just wondering where they had all gone when I noticed it was quite calm this morning"

She chuckled and a little silence settled during which she carefully watched him and saw how he really seemed at peace for the first time since the beginning of their quest. It was true that this place was really relaxing, herself hadn't felt so good in a long time. When she was discussing with the dwarves, she often found herself going for long walks in the gardens or the maze of corridors and was more than once joined by Haleth in who she had found a very agreeable companion.

"You really like this place, don't you?" she asked.

"Well, it's nice…I mean…I never thought I would get the chance to come here"

He smiled to himself.

"It's a bit…it feels like home" he added in a lower voice.

"You will see your home again, Bilbo"

"How do you know?"

She shrugged her shoulders.

"Feminine intuition. It's a nice sword Gandalf gave you, have you ever used one before?"

He shook his head, looking down at his feet.

"You should learn then, you will need it. Give me a few more days until my shoulder is healed and I will teach you"

"You will?"

"Yes. I am sure you can quickly learn a few things that will be helpful"

He didn't seem very reassured and she clapped his shoulder as she stood up.

"I am looking after you, Bilbo" she whispered with a little smile before walking away.

The hobbit watched her go with a stunned expression on his face. She was by far the member of the company he appreciated the most so far. Of course, he had grown quite fond of all of them, even Thorin, but despite everything none showed him the same respect and kindness as she did.

* * *

Luna was in search of Gandalf, there was something on her mind that she needed to tell him and only him. Not even Thorin should hear this, at least not for now.

She quickly found the wizard, he was walking up a flight of steps with Elrond, both seemed to be in deep conversation and the young girl realised they had been having such talks ever since they had arrived in Rivendell.

"Ah, Luna" Gandalf said when he saw her waiting for them on top of the stairs. His face had been one of worry but he brought a smile to his lips when she gave him a questioning look.

"How is your shoulder?" Elrond asked her.

"Good, thank you. Gandalf…I'm sorry to interrupt but there is something I need to tell you and I think it is wiser to do it before the others come back"

The wizard raised an eyebrow, his smile disappearing from his face. He knew the young girl quite well, she was way too loyal to Thorin to ever hide anything from him. If she insisted on doing such a thing though, it couldn't possibly be good.

"Is it something the lord Elrond should not hear either?" he asked.

She flashed a quick look at the elf, seemed to debate the subject for a few seconds then shook her head.

"No it's alright, my father trusted you and would have wanted me to tell you as well if it means it could help in protecting the king" she said.

"Let's go to my office then, we will have all the privacy we need there"

They followed Elrond to the large and quite impressive room that was his office and Luna couldn't keep herself from looking around her in awe when she entered the room. The walls were lined up with shelves containing an uncountable amount of books, some small enough to fit in her hand, others so big she wouldn't have been able to carry them by herself. She also guessed that some were older than anything she knew and more valuable than she could imagine. In the center of the room, there was a massive desk where piles of parchments were waiting to be read or written.  
Elrond sat himself on the big chair behind it and invited his guests to sit on comfortable seats facing him on the other side of the desk.

"So what is that important matter?" Gandalf asked.

"When we were chased by those orcs in the plain, after I pushed Thorin and Kili down into the cave and stayed back…at some point, before you could arrive with your riders, I found myself pinned to the ground by an orc. He raised his dagger and was about to kill me but then he suddenly stopped when he saw my scar"

Her fingers unconsciously traced the white mark on her cheek, below her eye.

Gandalf's face had taken a grave expression;

"Did he say anything?" he asked in a low tone.

"No, I didn't give him the time and got him off me but then, the pack circled me and they wanted to know who I was"

Elrond's eyes were going from the young girl to Gandalf's face that had paled. Something was escaping him, he couldn't understand why that sounded so bad.

"Gandalf, do you think they might have recognised me?" she asked.

The wizard mumbled something inaudible, lost in his thoughts.

"Gandalf?" she called.

He looked at her in concern.

"It is as I feared"

"What is going on?" Elrond asked.

The wizard turned towards him.

"The orcs don't know Luna survived the attack. Azog assumed she died with her father and her brother and that the line of the captains is extinct. As you know, the orcs had been trying to kill the captains of Erebor for a long time even before Laïn and much more then when he took on the role and none but declared war to them. Killing the captains meant two things to them : firstly they would finally get rid of that line that they most profoundly hate for all the orcs they have slain and secondly they would more easily be able to get to the line of Durin and forever destroy the kings of the lonely mountain. They would have succeeded at the battle of Moria when they injured Laïn and killed his first son Logan if Thorin had not then sent him to the hidden valley to hide with Lunkin and Luna.  
For years the orcs have searched them and when they finally found their place a few months ago, they wanted to make sure none of the three remaining members of that family would survive but against all our hopes, Luna did.  
The dwarves of the blue mountains had already been hunting down the orcs who had murdered their captains to avenge him but when she was found alive, it was made sure none of them would escape to go and spread words that she at least had survived. If the orcs believed her to be dead, not only would she be safe for at least a little while but also, we would have an element of surprise against Azog. That last part, Thorin doesn't know"

"What do you mean he doesn't know?"

"He still ignores it but Azog the Defiler didn't die in the battle of Moria. He is alive and has nothing but revenge in his mind" Luna explained. "Those orcs in the plain didn't find us by chance, they had been looking for us and he was the one who sent them. That is why I joined this quest. I knew Azog was alive when the orcs attacked my home. They would have needed someone to reunite them and to keep sending them to find my father. There is only one orc who has the power to unite their legions and keep them under his control and I'm afraid that he has heard of this quest sooner than I had hoped he would"

"Why don't you tell Thorin?"

"He will learn soon enough" Gandalf piped in, "but it is better if he ignores it for now. He too will seek his revenge for what happened to his grandfather and his father if he can and we can't afford to lose him. Not when his people have placed so much hope on him. He wanted Luna in this quest anyway because she is now Laïn's only heir and has proved herself to him. She will protect his nephews against the dangers of the journey. What he doesn't know is that the greatest danger she will protect them and himself from is the Defiler"

"But when Azog will learn that you are alive, and from what you told us that might be soon, he will do everything to kill you"

"Yes but he would have found out at some point anyway. We were simply hoping that it would be as late as possible. It doesn't matter anyway, it is for the best. Azog will set his eyes on me the moment he will learn I still live and hopefully Thorin will be his second priority until he has killed me. That's exactly what we want ; deviate his focus from the king"

"If we had let the news of Luna's survival reach him, he would have come at once to finish her while she was still unable to defend herself because of her injuries and before the quest could even start" Gandalf added. "Now that she has recovered and took part of this quest, his chances of getting rid of the line of Durin are at least a bit lower"

Elrond remained silent for a couple of minutes, looking at Luna from a renewed point of view. He had seen at first that she was Laïn's heir not only by blood but by personality. She had the same gleam of courage and defiance in her eyes as her father used to and although he had not seen her fight the orcs, he had guessed at once that she was everything but a damsel in distress when he had found her in the plain.  
But now, after hearing their plan, he could only look at her with admiration and respect. She was young for a dwarf -not to mention for an elf- and had just gone through the collapsing of her world and yet there she was, secretly planning to throw herself at the Defiler to give a chance to her king.

"Your father would be proud of you" he said after a little while. "You make a great captain"

"I am not a captain" she instantly replied. "Not unless Thorin wishes me to be one"

"Yet you are ready to put yourself in Azog's way to protect him while he doesn't even know Azog is still alive. I knew Laïn very well and have often heard him talking of the role of captain. He told me once that there is no better captain than one whose king, no matter how suspicious and prudent, doesn't even realise how many dangers he is kept from everyday"

"It sounds like my father didn't only keep his lectures for his children then" she said with a little smile that Elrond returned then she turned to Gandalf again. "I had hoped we would at least have had the time to reach the Eastern side of the Misty Mountains before Azog heard of me. Hopefully, he won't unleash his troops against us too soon. If we can reach the borders of Mirkwood before that, then I believe our chances will be high enough. He won't follow us into the old forest."

"A chain of mountains and many leagues lie between us and Mirkwood…and what awaits us beneath the trees of this forest is not to be taken too lightly in any case. We will focus on one thing at a time, our road is still long...Azog will have a hard time following us while we are in the mountains and hopefully then I know someone who might help us"

"Who's that?" Luna asked.

"You will find out if we reach him…and if he agrees to help us."

The young dwarf frowned but knew the wizard too well to know that he wouldn't say more on that friend of him so she simply shrugged her shoulders.

"That is all that I had to say. Lord Elrond, do I have your word that nothing of what you heard here today will reach the dwarves' ears?"

"I promise you"

She nodded.

"I'd better go before they come back"

And she took leave of them.

Gandalf looked at the door of the office that had closed behind her for a few minutes until Elrond drew him out of his thoughts.

"You do know that if she finds herself face to face with Azog, she won't stand many chances" he frowned at him.

The wizard didn't answer at once, he was kept in his thoughts for a little moment then turned his eyes towards the elf.

"Luna is a very fierce warrior, she…"

"Gandalf. No matter how brave or how good she is, it is Azog the Defiler we are talking about and he wants her head at least as much as he wants Thorin's" Elrond interrupted him.

The wizard sighted, he looked sad and tired.

"I don't understand how you could agree to this. The girl is planning her own death"

"I told her it was too dangerous but she would hear nothing. She is determined to protect the line of Durin until death if needed. She is the one who didn't want to tell Thorin about Azog in the first place and despite everything, I can only agree with her. The least Thorin knows about him, the better it will be. The dwarves have to take back Erebor and they won't be able to do it without him to lead them. But, if we want Thorin to survive until then, we need Luna. If you don't trust her, trust me"

"I do trust her, just like I trusted her father. I just hope she will live through this"

"So do I" Gandalf sighted, "…so do I…"

* * *

As Luna was making her way back towards the room that had been given to the dwarves, the scene from the chase in the plain replayed in her mind. If the orcs had indeed recognised her, by now they would probably have gone to tell Azog about her.  
She bit her lip, she really had hoped he wouldn't bother them for at least a few more weeks but after all, Gandalf was maybe right ; while they were in the mountains, he wouldn't show himself too much. The danger would be the greatest between the mountains and the old forest when they would be more exposed.

She shook her head to get rid of those thoughts. The wizard was right, one thing at a time. They had at least reach Rivendell with everyone and if Azog was to show himself soon, she was ready.

When she arrived in the room, she was surprised to find the dwarves who had come back from their bath packing their things up.

"Are we leaving?" she asked.

"Yes" Thorin answered. "We have to reach the mountain before Durin's day, we can't afford to remain too long anywhere. The road is still long, we don't know what might delay us more on the way"

She nodded. That at least was very true.

"Do you want me to go and fetch Gandalf?"

He shook his head.

"He will join us later"

She gave him a concerned look but he turned his heels and went back to packing.

She let out a sight, not doubting he was still angry at the wizard for taking them to Rivendell. This really wasn't going to be easy…

She then hurriedly walked to the spot where she had left her stuff, realising all the others were almost done packing and that she still had to start. As she arrived near her bag, she found Kili who was already done with his.

"Where have you been, young lady?" he grinned at her.

"Just walking around, enjoying the tranquility of your absence"

"Aren't you going to say goodbye to Haleth?"

She shot him an irritated look.

"This is getting annoying"

"Sorry" he said with a sheepish smile.

She was quickly done and put her coat back on then followed the others along the corridors then down the steps that would take them out of the valley.

"My lady!"

Luna, Kili and a few of the dwarves at the back of the group turned around to see Haleth coming towards them.

"Speaking of the devil…" Kili muttered in a dark voice before the young girl pushed them forward.

"Go on, I'm coming" she said, shooting a warning glance at the young dwarf.

He followed the others, a dark look on his face. Until the end this elf would have played with his nerves. Fili who hadn't seen what had just happened looked at his brother's face in concern.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"The elf who grew fond of Luna is bidding her farewell" Ori innocently answered then quickly looked down under Kili's glance while Fili's face was brighting up with a huge smile he wasn't able to subdue. He didn't try to tease his brother though, despite what Kili was pretending, he was growing more and more certain everyday that his baby brother was starting to see Luna from another perspective and this situation could reveal way too interesting to risk spoiling it now by unnecessary jokes.

"Are you leaving already?" Haleth asked Luna when he arrived in front of her.

"Yes, our road still lies long ahead of us, we can't afford any delay"

"But you barely stayed here…there is so much more to see, you could all rest before going towards many dangers once again."

"I am sure there is, but unfortunately it is not my choice. I regret that I didn't get the chance to see Elrond off. Will you please thank him for me for everything he did?"

"Of course. I wish you had stayed longer but if you must go then…keep an eye on those dwarves"

"I will" she chuckled.

"That young one…he is very fond of you, you know. And I know you are too, maybe more than you will admit"

She blushed.

"I don't know what you are talking about. Kili is just a friend and one of those I must protect"

"Yet, I didn't say his name but you directly thought of him"

Her blush intensified and he gave her an amused smile.

"It was a pleasure to find you in that plain" he said. "Will you come back to Rivendell someday?"

"Who knows…if we reclaim the mountain and everything is settled, I might need a vacation here"

"Make sure to bring your friend along. I like him"

She had a little laugh.

"I am convinced he will like you too one day" she said.

"Well, in the meanwhile…take care of yourself, they need you" he paused for a few seconds and looked fondly at her. "Go on now, they are waiting for you, little friend"

"Goodbye, Haleth" she waved at him with a big happy smile as she turned her heels and ran back to where the others were indeed waiting.

"Farewell, Luna" he whispered.

Thorin moved on as soon as she saw her arriving and she took back her place at the back of the group.

"What did he want?" Kili asked in a voice that he failed to keep natural.

"To tell me how much he likes you, Kili, and how your departure leaves him heart-broken and forever inconsolable"

"Luna!"

She joined her laugh to Fili's and the young brunette looked down at his feet to hide his red cheeks. Although it grieved her to leave Haleth, she was happy to have made a new friend here.

The young girl's attention was brought to the head of the group though when she heard Thorin calling to Bilbo who was looking back at Rivendell with sadness in his eyes.

"Master Baggins, I suggest you keep up!"

Bilbo sighted and Luna warmly squeezed his shoulder when she came to where he was standing.

"Come on Bilbo" she tried to cheer him up. "Let's go get that mountain back!"


	10. Storytelling and hidden talent

_**Happy New Year everyone! :) Thanks for the new favorites/follows and the reviews. As always, I am very happy to know that you enjoy this story so far, I am very trying my best to make it as interesting as possible! There hasn't been too much of it for now, but soon things will get a bit more explicit between Kili and Luna.  
Enjoy this chapter! **_

* * *

**Chapter IX : Storytelling and hidden talents**

"Keep your feet apart…yes that's it, shoulder-width. That way, you stand strong against any foe" Luna looked at Bilbo who was positioning himself as she had taught him. He kept a firm grip on his sword, not sure whether he really wanted to do this.

He had thought it was a great idea when the young girl had first talked about it, he needed to learn to defend himself but the first few times they had actually done it, he had just felt ridiculous. It seemed that he would never be able to fight like those warriors he was traveling with, he would forever be a burden who ran out of his home with little silly dreams of adventure.

"Excellent" she said with a satisfied smile then unsheathed her own sword. "Ready?"

He swallowed nervously, of course he wasn't ready, he never was but as he had done the other times they had practiced together, he nodded.

"Block my blows" she said and in an instant, she dived towards him.

The hobbit knew she would never hurt him ; she always stopped the blows he couldn't avoid or hit him with the flat side of her blade.

He managed to block her when she attacked the first time, avoided her second blow by hurriedly stepping away and as he tried to move away from the third, he stumbled and fell backwards.

He let out a little moan of pain as he found himself lying on his back on the ground and gladly took Luna's hand when she offered to pull him up back on his feet.

"We will stop here for today" she said.

He sighted in relief. They had been training for what felt like hours already and his body was aching all over.

"You are getting better" the girl commented, putting her sword back into its sheath. "Your progress is quite impressing"

"No it's not"

She gave him a surprised look.

"It's nice of you to try and encourage me like that but I know I am doing a terrible job"

"What?"

"We have been doing this for at least two or three weeks already and I still lamentably fall to the ground after a couple of seconds. The others are right about me, I am not made for adventure"

"No one says so anymore"

"I know that's what you all think…well maybe not you, but that's because it's you"

"What is that supposed to mean?" she raised an eyebrow.

"You always believe in everyone"

"No, I don't, I only believe in those who are worth it"

The compliment seemed to have no effect on the hobbit though.

"Bilbo, you think you are bad at fighting because you compare yourself to the others but they are all warriors who have been doing this all their lives while you only just started. Trust me when I say that most of them took the same time you took to be able to block three blows just to be able to properly hold their sword"

He just shrugged his shoulders and picked up his blade. Luna watched him with concern on her face. Ever since they had left Rivendell, the hobbit had been a lot more silent and reserved than usual and she knew that he missed the Shire a lot.

"Your neighbours will be quite surprised when they will see you coming back with this elvish blade" she said to try and light up his mind.

"I think they will be surprised to see me come back at all"

"Have you already thought of how you will start your story?"

"My story?"

"Yes, everyone in Hobbiton will want to hear where you ran off to. If you are to tell them about everything that happened to you, you might as well start thinking about a good way of putting it"

"Even now I wouldn't know how to start"

"Well then, you need to think about it. I can help you if you want, I have never been as fond as you of books and stories but I believe that if we combine our efforts we will build a beautiful tale to tell all your neighbours"

"That sounds like a good idea" Bilbo admitted, his lips finally curling into a little smile.

"Great! Come on now, let's go back to the camp"

They made their way back to where they had left the others earlier and found them sitting around the fire, already eating a stew made by Bofur who had kept two bowls for them.

Bilbo was thankful for finally being able to sit down and put something in his stomach. Those training sessions always took all the energy he had left after a day of intense walking in the mountains. Now that they had no more ponies since that night when the trolls had captured them -which already felt like so long ago-, they had to walk the rest of the way to Erebor and the hobbit sometimes found himself wishing for his old ride, no matter how bad he had disliked it at the beginning.

"So for a start…at which moment exactly do you want to start your story?" Luna asked, blowing on her stew to cool it down a little bit.

Bilbo swallowed the big portion he had been able to fit inside his mouth and thought about it for couple of minutes.

"I guess…at the moment when you all arrived that night at Bag-End while I was just getting ready to have a nice and tranquil dinner" he answered.

She chuckled at the memory.

"Or not, actually it really started when Gandalf visited me on that morning and told me he was looking for someone to share in an adventure. I should have known I hadn't so easily gotten myself rid of him…"

She let out a little laugh.

"Sorry" she said as he raised an eyebrow at her. "Indeed, wizards are quite unpredictable. That sounds like a good idea"

The hobbit didn't seemed entirely convinced yet though and Ori who was sitting nearby caught their pensive looks.

"Excuse me, what are you both thinking about?" he asked in his usual shy voice.

"We are trying to find a proper way for Biblo to start his story when he will go home and his friends will want to know where he went" Luna answered. "Oh, but of course! Ori, why didn't I think of you earlier? You are a very good writer, maybe you can help us"

"Well, I don't know if I'm that good…" the dwarf blushed, "but I can try"

"It's not easy…" Bilbo thoughtfully said. "There are not many books about hobbits, I don't know how to start…We are not usually part of the great stories, I don't even think I've actually ever read one including Halflings"

"Neither have I" Ori shrugged his shoulders. "Hobbits are not really well-known outside the borders of the Shire unfortunately"

"Well that's it then!" Luna exclaimed. "Bilbo, you need to start your story by talking about hobbits. That way, the people of the Shire will be pleased to have a story that actually starts by flattering them and the people beyond the Shire will learn more about them"

"I think that's a good idea" Ori nodded.

"That doesn't sound too bad indeed…_Concerning Hobbits_…"

"I like the sound of that" Luna said.

Ori took his notepad out of his bag and started scribbling on it.

Bilbo opened his mouth as if to say something but frowned and scratched his head.

"I think there should be something before that though…not a whole chapter…more like a prologue to set the bases of the story" he said.

While he and Luna started to think about what could serve as a good introduction to the tale, Ori wrote some more then looked up at them with a little satisfied smile.

"I think it would be better to start with one hobbit in particular before speaking of the others. We have to set the decor and introduce the main character first. Tell me what you think of this" he cleared his throat. "_In a hole in the ground, there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole full of worms and oozy smells. It was a hobbit hole, and that means good food, a warm hearth, and all the comforts of home_"

Bilbo smiled, more to himself than to Ori and Luna winked at the dwarf scribe who blushed.

"I really like that" the hobbit said in a slightly absent voice. "You do are very good"

"Didn't I say so?" Luna piped in. "Alright, I see that you two are more creative than me when it comes to that, I will let you work on it"

And she stood up and walked away towards where Fili and Kili were sitting not far from their uncle.

The two story-writers watched her go then Bilbo turned towards Ori again.

"May I please take a look at what you've written?"

"Sure" the dwarf handed him his notepad and the hobbit reread the few lines that had already been written. He also noticed at that moment a little drawing Ori had scribbled in the corner of the page and noticed that the dwarf had managed to draw in details a tree in that little corner.

"Hey, that's really nice…I didn't know you could draw that well"

The dwarf looked over Bilbo's shoulder at his drawing and blushed again.

"Oh, that's just a little thing…I can't really say that I'm good but I like drawing, it makes me feel relaxed and at peace during the quest"

"What do you usually draw?"

"It depends of what I see…May I?"

Bilbo handed him his notebook back and the dwarf turned a few pages and started to show him some of his drawings.

"That little tree, I saw it a few days ago while we were walking, I just found it beautiful. There, I drew a flower from the gardens in Rivendell…oh and here, the trolls when they were turned to stone"

"That's amazing…wait, is that my teapot?"

Ori stopped on a drawing of a teapot and blushed. It was indeed one that he had seen in Bag-End.

"Yes…I found it quite pretty that night so I drew it. It's for you if you want, it will remind you of your home"

"Th…thanks" he mumbled as the dwarf gave him the drawing of his teapot. "What's that one?" he then asked, seeing another one hidden beneath a few sheets.

"Oh, that's nothing…just a sketch…"

Bilbo raised an eyebrow at Ori's reddening face.

"Can't I see it?"

The dwarf gave a quick, anxious look around then leant closer to the hobbit.

"Then promise me you won't tell the others about this one. Especially not Luna"

"I promise…"

Ori gave one more quick look across to where the young girl was sitting with Fili and Kili and carefully showed Bilbo his drawing.

It was the beginning of a portrait. The details hadn't been drawn yet, only the shape of the face and the first sketches of beautiful curls framing it.

"Is this…Luna?" he asked.

"Well it will be hopefully when it will be over, it's just a start. I want to give it to her as her birthday present."

"I am sure it will look great, what a good idea"

"Thanks. But you won't tell her, right?"

"I promised I wouldn't. When is her birthday?"

"It's in November. As she was born the same day Smaug took Erebor, it is unfortunately never a happy date to remember…but normally, if everything goes well we should have settled back into the mountain for her next birthday, Durin's day being in October, so we will all be in the mood to celebrate for once"

"It's such a great idea, I'm sure she will like it"

Oïn had a little proud smile. He was already looking forward to the day he would be able to give Luna her present.

"I really had no idea you were so talented…this is so realistic" Bilbo exclaimed, taking another look at his teapot.

"Would you want one?"

"A portrait?"

"Yes, would you like a portrait of yourself to go with your story?"

"That sounds a bit narcissistic, doesn't it?"

"It's for future generations, so they will know the face of the hero of the story they are reading"

Blbo chuckled and shrugged his shoulders.

"If you want, why not after all"

Ori gave a little smile and they started talking about books and arts.

* * *

A bit later, while night had fallen over the campement and that most of the company were sleeping, four of the dwarves had remained sitting near the fire : Dwalin who was holding the watch, and Thorin, Balin and Luna.

"Everything is going well so far" Thorin said in a low voice to avoid waking the others up.

It wasn't rare that the four of them found themselves discussing about the quest together. Thorin was of course after all, their leader and rightful king, Balin was and had always been his counsellor, Dwalin was one of his fiercest fighters and Luna was to bear the title of captain of the royal guard.

"Indeed, we left Rivendell three weeks ago and there is still no sign of the orcs" Balin agreed in the same hushed tone.

Only Luna bit her lip.

"It is strange that Gandalf hasn't joined us yet" she said.

"He mustn't be far behind us. We won't leave the mountains without waiting for him anyway"

She absentmindedly nodded.

"How is the hobbit's training?" Thorin asked her.

"Actually quite good. He is better than I'd thought and progresses quickly. Of course it's only just the beginning but I believe that he will soon be able to properly defend himself in a battle, shall we encounter any"

The dwarf did not seem very convinced but Balin shook his head with a little smile.

"I don't doubt she is right, you forget it is part of the captain's job to select and train the best warriors she can find to compose the guard" he softy said. "If she thinks he will do good, then he will"

Luna opened her mouth to protest but Thorin nodded.

"I did not forget" he smiled at her. "When we will have taken our mountain back, we will restore the guard. Six of the best fighters amongst our people to follow the captain"

"Five, I'm still here" Dwalin corrected.

Thorin turned towards him and nodded. Indeed, Dwalin was the last member that remained of the last royal guard. The five other guards had died either facing Smaug or facing orcs.

"If the captain will have me, then I'm in" he added for Luna.

She slightly bowed her head but bit her lips. Would that warrior who had obeyed her father follow the orders of a young girl such as her?

"You will be the one to decide first of all if you want me to take on my father's role" she told Thorin.

"I am not asking myself the question anymore" he answered.

She gave him a little nod to acknowledge the compliment.

Balin's lips stretched into a soft smile and he stood up.

"I am going to sleep. We have another long day of walking waiting for us tomorrow"

Thorin nodded.

"Do you need help to hold the watch?" Luna asked Dwalin who shook his head.

"No, don't ye worry, go get some rest, the lads haven't obviously been able to wait for you" he chuckled.

They all looked over at where Fili and Kili were sleeping, rolled in their blankets with an empty space and a third blanket prepared between them for Luna to come and do the same.

Balin's grin grew wider and even Thorin couldn't keep his lips from curling into a little smile.

"It's nice to see that some things never change" the old counsellor declared, remembering very well the time when Luna had lived with Dis and her sons and how the three little dwarflings always used to sleep snuggled against each other at night.

Luna's cheeks slightly turned pink and she simply shrugged her shoulders. After bidding the others a goodnight, she walked to where Fili and Kili were and indeed, crawled between them, pulling the blanket over her. Both were slightly snoring but that didn't even matter to her, she would never sleep anywhere else that close to them. Just like when she was a child, she always felt safer and even her nightmares were scarcer and didn't seem as scary when she was near them. In addition now, she also felt like it would be easier to protect them as well from any harm should they be under attack during the night.

Kili mumbled something inaudible in his sleep and she subdued a little smile from her face before falling asleep in her turn.

_Keep walking, she had to keep walking. If she stopped, she would die, according of course that she wasn't dead already…no, that could not be, if she was dead, it wouldn't be so hard to keep going. If she was dead, her family would be here with her ; her father, Lunkin,…, Logan and maybe…yes, maybe even her mother that she had never really known as she was dead the day of her birth, killed by a dragon.  
She had been the first to die, Luna bitterly thought, and she would be the last. Whether she would fall in a few years or in a couple of minutes, it seemed that her line was doomed. _

_No, she couldn't think like that, she had to keep going. The orcs weren't far behind. They knew she was alive, they had found her once already in the forest, a few days after the attack in the hidden valley. Once again, she had barely escaped with her life. How, she did not know, but she had seen the teeth of their wargs from very close…far too close actually.  
She raised a hand to her middle on which the jaws of the monster had closed and winced in pain. She had bandaged the wound with a strip of what had once been her nightgown but that was now just a dirty torn rag. She hoped it would be enough until she reached her friends, in the meanwhile all she could do was to keep walking, no matter the pain, no matter the exhaustion and no matter the cold of the winter that had settled in the blue mountains.  
She was clutching to her father's sword, never daring to let go of her grip on it. If she hadn't had it when the orcs had found her, she would be long dead by now. She wasn't sure how she had found the strength to push them back, she had probably been lucky : they had been only five or six and hadn't expected to find her at all which had given her a small advantage. Then, the rage of what they had just done had taken over and she had let it all out against them. She hadn't killed them all though, two had gone away and she did not doubt they had gone to warn the rest of their pack that she was still alive. Ever since that moment, she expected to see them appearing front between the trees at anytime, after all they hadn't put in so much effort to find and kill her father and brother just to let her go like that. She…_

_She suddenly stopped. She hadn't caught on time the movement between the bushes and her eyes sharpened when an horrible-looking orc stepped from behind a tree and smirked at her. _

_"__Are you finally ready to die?" he smirked. She could hear the others all around her, they had circled her. She risked a quick glance behind her shoulder and was surprised to see that despite what she had thought, there weren't more orcs than the last time._

_"__How many tries does it take to kill me?" she spat at the orc in front of her. _

_"__The third time is the one" _

_He cursed in black speech and all of them suddenly threw themselves at her._

* * *

_Luna pushed one of the bodies that was lying on top of her away and rolled on her side, moaning in pain. She slowly forced herself on her knees and looked around her. All the orcs laid dead._

_"__Maybe…next time…" she muttered at the one who had talked at the beginning._

_She looked down at herself, she was in a very pitiful state and when she saw the blood covering her clothes, thought it better to not take a closer look at the wounds she had gotten. There was nothing she could do now…She stood up and almost fell when she put her weight on her right leg that had been severely injured. Biting her lips to avoid screaming, she picked up her sword. Snow was starting to fall._

_Keep walking, she had to keep walking._


	11. Thunder battle

**Chapter X : Thunder battle**

The weather that had been so beautiful so far had changed so suddenly none of the company had seen it coming. Dark clouds had replaced the clear blue sky and the rain had started pouring down on them as they had started what probably was the most dangerous part of their journey in the misty mountains. The company was walking in a close line along the narrow edge of a cliff on the side of a mountain, trying not to look at the sheer drop waiting for them in case of a misplaced step.

"Hold on!" Thorin roared at the head of the line, his voice barely covering the thundering sounds of the storm that had begun.

Luna looked up at him, she could barely distinguish his form in the storm. She was keeping a firm grip on the rocks of the mountain side next to her as she was advancing in case the narrow and unsteady path suddenly collapsed underneath her feet. She was walking behind Kili and in front of Fili.

She widened her eyes in horror when she saw Bilbo stumbling dangerously towards the edge of the cliff a bit further but thankfully, Dwalin next to him had the reflex to pull him back and save him from a terrible fall.

"We must find shelter!" Thorin's voice came once again.

They couldn't agree more.

"Look out!"

All looked up to see a massive boulder flying in the air towards them. The giant rock crashed on the mountain side above them and broke into a thousand little pieces that fell on them.

Luna grabbed Kili's shoulder in front of her to push him against the mountain slope and felt him pulling her towards him as the rocks fell around her. She then looked up and briefly met his eyes, they were filled with worry and although she was certain hers weren't any better, she gave him the smallest of nods.

"This is no thunderstorm" Balin suddenly exclaimed, "it's a thunder battle!"

As they all snapped their heads towards what he was looking at, their eyes widened in horror when they understood where the flying boulder had come from. A huge, massive, enormous stone giant was heading their way with another gigantic rock ready to be thrown in its hands.

"Bless me…" Bofur muttered. "Giants! Stone giants!"

They thought for a moment it was aiming at them until they saw a second gigantic monster arriving the other way and getting shot by the first one. They were caught in the middle of a fight between mountains and unfortunately, it wasn't over…

Luna gasped when the ground beneath their feet starting moving and the dwarves' shouts were lost in the wind when a third giant broke free from the mountain they had just been walking on. They had been standing on the giant's legs and apparently, it hadn't noticed but wanted to get in the fight as well.

Kili, Fili and Luna held onto each other as they were balanced according to the awaking giant's moves.

"Luna!" Kili exclaimed.

She looked down and gasped in horror when she saw that a large gap was starting to form on the path underneath her feet. The young dwarf prince reached for her hand but she was further away from him than from Fili who grabbed her by the waist and pulled her against him before she could fall into the gap that was getting wider and wider as the legs of the giants were separating, splitting the group into two.

"Kili, grab my hand!" Fili cried out to his little brother but it was too late : they were too far apart already.

Fortunately for them, the leg on which the other half of the company was standing quickly got close enough to the mountain side to allow them all to jump in safety onto another pass.

Luna swallowed nervously, at least Thorin and Kili were safe…she and Fili clung to one another as they were being carried away on the giant's other leg with the rest of the group. The cries of the dwarves got mixed with the sounds of the rocks the giants were throwing crashing into each other.

The young girl risked a glance over her shoulder and a cry got stuck in her throat when she saw they were about to be crashed against the mountain side. She closed her eyes and braced herself for the worse. Her feet suddenly left the ground and she was thrown forward, hitting a rocky ground. She gasped in pain when she felt something else fall on top of her then, after the sound of a massive crash, silence came back and only the sounds of the storm were to be heard.

It's only when she heard the thing that had fallen on top of her moan in pain that she opened her eyes to meet Fili's.

"No!" she heard Thorin's voice before she saw him hurrying towards them with the rest of the group behind him. When he saw that they were alright, a relieved sight escaped his lips.

"It's alright! They're alive!" Balin shouted to the others.

"You're heavy" Luna muttered to Fili who hadn't recovered his spirits just yet.

"Sorry" he said, pushing himself off her.

Luna looked around her, they had been lucky enough to fall into a cornice on the mountain side and avoid being crashed against the rocks as their giant had fallen into the ravine.

"Fili! Luna!"

Kili pushed past his uncle and raced towards his brother and friend for who he had just feared the worst and fell on his knees before them, embracing them both.

"We're fine, a little giant ride won't harm us, Kee", Fili joked.

"Keeps us in shape" Luna added with a little wince of pain, rubbing her temple.

Kili was about to say something when Bofur's calls drew their attention.

"Where's Bilbo? Where's the hobbit?!" he shouted.

Luna jumped to her feet, her heart racing. Bilbo couldn't have fallen! And he hadn't, he was clinging on to the edge of the path, trying desperately to get a hold of something to pull himself up.

"Bilbo!" she cried out as she raced towards him, threw herself on the ground and grabbed his hands before he could fall. "Hold on!"

She had never seen the poor hobbit so frightened. He looked desperately at her, balancing above the emptiness of the massive gulf they were standing above.

"Don't look down!" she ordered. "Look at me, only at me!"

Despite the dwarves trying to help her, she didn't have enough strengths to pull him up.

"No! Thorin!" she cried out when she caught glimpse of the dwarf swinging himself down to push the hobbit up back on the pass.

As soon as Bilbo was safe, the stones Thorin was holding onto gave way and she caught his hands just on time, throwing herself towards him. He was too heavy for her though and she hadn't had time to assure her balance on the edge of the cliff and would have fallen with him if Dwalin hadn't thrown himself at her to grab her by the waist before she could slip down from the pass into the void.

The big warrior quickly pulled them both up to safety and sat Luna down with her back against the mountain slope, her heart racing in her chest.

"For a moment, I thought we'd lost our burglar" Dwalin sighted.

"He's been lost ever since he left home" Thorin shot his darkest glance at the poor hobbit who was still shaking from his terrifying experience. "He should never have come, he has not place amongst us!"

The young girl frowned at Thorin's harsh words and bit her lip to restrain herself from saying anything.

In an instant, Kili was by her side and helped her up on her feet as Thorin was leading them towards the safety of a cave he had just found.

Most of the dwarves and Bilbo let themselves fall to the ground in exhaustion, still shocked of what had just happened. Luna let herself slip into a sitting position against the rocky wall of the cave then briefly met Dwalin's eyes a bit further and they exchanged a little nod. Captain or not, they had both fulfilled their duties today, her by catching Thorin in his fall and him by helping her to save him.

"No, no fires, not in this place" Thorin growled at Oïn who was assembling some dry pieces of woods. "We leave at first light. Bofur, you take the first watch, the rest of you, get some sleep"

"We were supposed to wait in the mountains until Gandalf joins us, that was the plan" Balin called to him.

"Plans change"

Luna exchanged a worried look with Balin and stood up to walk towards them.

"Thorin, we need him in this quest, we can't leave without him" she carefully told him in a low voice.

"As much as I am grateful for what you did which only proves how worthy you are of the title of captain, your role doesn't include questioning the king, Luna" he eyed her warily.

She sharpened her eyes but he walked away before she could answer anything and Balin prudently put a hand on her arm as if to keep her from following him to confront him.

"Let him be, lass, you can't reason with him when he has decided to be stubborn" he whispered.

"We need Gandalf" she insisted in the same low voice.

"I know" the old counsellor sighted, "I know…"

He gave her a concerned look. Balin was the only one in the company who knew about Azog as well and he too was worried, not only for Thorin but for Luna as well if the Defiler found them too early.

She shook her head and walked away in her turn when she caught glimpse of Bilbo sitting alone in a corner and hesitated for a few seconds then went towards him.

"You gave us quite a fright, Bilbo" she softly said with a little smile.

He didn't answer, he looked miserable and despaired so she knelt in front of him and warmly squeezed his shoulder.

"Get some rest, tomorrow will be a better day" she whispered to him then left him to his thoughts.

Kili watched as the young girl made her way towards the spot where he and Fili had chosen to sleep. She took her blanket from her bag and lied down, turning her back on him. Frowning, he made a move to reach for her but Fili stopped him. He shot his big brother a questioning glance and for an answer, the blonde turned his eyes to where Thorin was.

"Let her sleep" he read on Fili's lips.

Although grieved, Kili nodded and just looked at the girl's back. For a second today, he had thought once again he was going to lose her. When he had seen her catching Thorin before he could fall and slipping from the edge of the pass before Dwalin caught her, his heart had felt like it suddenly exploded into a thousand pieces. For that very short instant, he had seen her fall and disappear into the emptiness of the ravine.

He bitterly realised that it was the third time in only a couple of months that he really feared for her life. The first time had been when they had found her after her escape from the orcs a few months ago. She had been so badly hurt that her chances of waking up at all at the time had been very low.  
The second time had been after their long run in the plain when she had stayed back to save him and the third time had been today. He did not doubt that it would happen more and more often and couldn't bring himself to the idea that she was risking her life for them.

He didn't want any harm to happen to her, he wanted to keep her close in his arms like in Rivendell when she had had a nightmare.

Fili's words from a night that seemed very long ago came back to him. _What do you think of Luna? She is quite beautiful, isn't she?_ By Mahal, yes she was beautiful and he didn't know if it was just his mind playing tricks on him but he found her more and more beautiful with each passing day. Whenever he met her eyes, he could feel himself interiorly melting, he got goosebumps and never found himself able to break free from them. He hadn't wanted to admit it until now but maybe, yes, maybe deep inside his heart, Luna wasn't only his little childhood friend anymore, she was the heir of the captains of Erebor whom he was slowly but surely starting to fall in love with.

* * *

_Keep…walking…she had to…keep walking.  
Pain and cold, there was nothing but pain and cold as she was making her way in the snow. She had no idea how long it had been now since she had left her wrecked house behind, nor the exact state her body was in. She didn't dare to look anymore, she just had to keep walking and she would soon be there…one step…at a time…_

_She suddenly realised she had finally come out of the woods when there were no more trees standing in her way. She raised her head and narrowed her eyes when she saw the house a bit further in front of her. It may have been decades since the last time she had come here, but she could never forget this place. She took a step forward, it couldn't be true, she was hallucinating. Maybe she was dead in the forest and all this was just an illusion? She caught glimpse of a figure watching in her direction from a window then a second one appearing next to it.  
As she took a second step forward, both of them hurriedly left the window. At the third step, her legs gave way underneath her and she fell in the snow. She had so little strengths left that she could do nothing to try and soften her fall. She vaguely heard a door banging open and footsteps coming her way. There were voices as well but she couldn't understand what they were saying until they were just above her._

_"__Who's that?" _

_"__I have no idea, turn him over so we can see his face" _

_She felt strong hands turning her over and both voices suddenly fell silent._

_"__It can not be…"_

_"__Luna?!" _

_Her vision was blurred by the pain and she hadn't seen the owners of the two faces above her for almost seventy years yet she could never have not recognised the young dwarf that was holding her with his messy dark hair and brown eyes where an odd mix of fear, happiness and shock could be read right now. _

_She wished she had been able to say something but darkness suddenly enveloped her all at once and at that moment, she was certain that she was dead._

Luna opened her eyes. Gloïn's regular snores were echoing in the cave and turning on her side, she saw Kili asleep next to her, turned in her direction. The images of her dream came back to her mind as she watched his face. Now she finally remembered what happened between the moment she had left the ruins of her house behind to the moment she had woken up at her friends' place.

A little noise made her look around and she sat up when she saw Bilbo, all packed up and with his coat on, silently walking towards the entrance of the cave.

"Where do you think you're going?" Bofur called to him in a whisper before she could do it. The dwarf had been holding the watch in a corner and the hobbit had not seen him.

He looked very frustrated to have been discovered and turned to Bofur with a grave look on his face.

"Back to Rivendell"

Luna felt as if she had just been slapped. Now completely awake, she stood up and silently walked towards the two of them. Bilbo caught glimpse of her and sighted.

"You can't turn back now! You're part of the company!" Bofur exclaimed, as silently as he could to not wake the others up. "You're one of us!"

"But I'm not though am I?" he had a look of sadness on his face but seemed determined at the same time. "Thorin said I should never have come and he was right. I'm not a Took, I'm a Baggins. I don't know what I was thinking…I should have never run out of my door"

"Bilbo…Thorin didn't mean it" Luna tried, not aware just like the two others that Thorin wasn't sleeping and was listening to their conversation.

"Of course, he meant it!" the hobbit exclaimed. "And he has a right to mean it…"

"It's because he doesn't know you yet, he hasn't been able to see yet what you're worth"

"Well I won't give him that disappointment then"

"No, Bilbo, please. He may not know it, but I do, I know you're worth much more than what even you would believe. Gandalf knows it too"

"Luna…", the hobbit sighted.

"You can't just go, you…your training is not over"

He raised an eyebrow at her but she found nothing else, she was out of arguments.

"You're homesick" Bofur suddenly said, "I understand"

"No, you don't! You don't understand! None of you do, you're dwarves! You're used to…to this life! To living on the road! Never settling in one place, not belonging anywhere!"

Both Luna and Bofur had been about to say something but their words didn't leave their lips after hearing the hobbit's words. The young girl bit her lip, he was right, especially in her case…the only home she had ever known had been destroyed by orcs and she was now on a quest to reclaim one that she had no memory of.

"Look, I'm sorry, I…I didn't mean…" the hobbit started, realising what he had said.

"No, you're right" Bofur whispered. He looked behind him at the dwarves sleeping in the cave. "We don't belong anywhere"

He sighted and turned to Bilbo again.

"I wish you all the luck in the world" he gave the hobbit a sad smile and gently clapped his shoulder, "I really do"

Bilbo warmly squeezed the dwarf's arm then turned to Luna who was just standing there, watching him with sadness in her eyes.

"You'll keep watching over them, right? They need you in this" he told her.

She bit her lip to push back the tears that were pricking in her eyes and nodded.

"Always"

He gave her one last smile then turned his heels to leave the cave but at that moment, something shiny at his belt caught Bofur's attention.

"What's that?" he asked.

The hobbit turned and narrowed his eyes when he saw that a blue light was coming from his sheath. He slowly pulled the elvish blade out to take a look at it. It was gleaming blue which could only mean one thing…

"Wake up!" Luna shouted to everyone and Thorin jumped to his feet and echoed her shout. "All of you, wake up!"

The young girl raced to where she had left Fili and Kili and held her hand out in front of her in an attempt try to reach for them but it was too late ; the floor of the cave suddenly gave way beneath them and they all fell into darkness.


	12. Down in Goblin Town

**Chapter XI : Down in Goblin Town**

The company half fell, half slid down a long rocky uneven slope until they landed in a messy heap at the end of a path built within the mountain itself.

Luna fell on top of Ori and braced herself to be crushed by another dwarf but thankfully, she was the last one to fall. None of them moved for a little while, some were letting out moans of pain and all were trying to figure out what had just happened but they didn't get much time though : screeches and uncountable footsteps were quickly heard and snapping her head up, the young girl's eyes widened when she saw a big group of goblins coming at them.

They all jumped on their feet but the foul creatures were far too numerous and grabbed them all to push them down the path towards the heart of the mountain.

"Get your hands off me!" Luna exclaimed as two goblins were holding her arms behind her back to keep her from kicking at them or grabbing her weapons.

She wondered if her opponents had even heard her among the protestations and curses of the dwarves. She looked over her shoulder; Fili, Kili and Thorin had all been captured as well and were being pushed along with the others but what caught her eyes was the little form of Bilbo who seemed to go unnoticed. He was staring at her with wide eyes as if asking her what to do and she gave him the smallest of nods. The hobbit understood and silently went down on his knees in a little ball. The goblins walked past him without even seeing him and as soon as they were further away, he crawled behind a piece of wood and watched as the company was being lead away by the creatures.

When they were out of sight, he stood up and took his dagger out, ready to follow them when suddenly, a goblin that had stayed behind dived towards him. He tried to fight him for a few moments when his enemy brutally launched himself at him and he stumbled backward. Unfortunately, he had been standing too close to the edge of the cliff on which the company had landed and he let out a strangled cry when he and the goblin both fell down into the abyss.

* * *

Goblins…everywhere she looked at, there were only goblins…around her, above her and underneath her on the uncountable wooden paths that ran everywhere in the mountain. _Disgusting, noisy creatures_, she thought as they were all singing a terrible song.  
The company was pushed along many paths and bridges that, by a great miracle, didn't collapse when they walked on them and the dwarves couldn't help but look in awe at the immensity of Goblin Town and at the enormous amount of goblins that were surrounding them.

Amongst all the voices singing, one was being heard on top of all the others and they didn't take long to understand they were being lead towards its owner who came into view after one last turn.  
Luna's jaw dropped in shock when her eyes fell on the hugest, tallest and ugliest goblin she had ever seen. He was almost thrice her height and five times her corpulence, his huge belly was swinging to the rhythm of his grotesque dance and his double chin was so massive it fell down on his chest.

"Down, down, down in Golbin Town!" he ended the song as they were taken to a halt on a platform in front of his throne made of bones.

It was the most terrible show they had ever seen. The huge goblin king sat back down on his throne and eyed them warily.

"Catchy, isn't it? It's one of my own composition" he said.

"That's not a song, that's an abomination!" Balin raised his voice and all the dwarves shouted their approval while Luna was trying to repress the look of disgust on her face.

"Abominations, mutations, deviations, that's all you're gonna find down here!" the king exclaimed before standing up again and leaning towards the group as the goblins that had captured them started throwing their swords into a pile on the ground. "Who would be so bold as to come armed into my kingdom? Spies? Thieves? Assassins?"

"Dwarves, your malevolence" a goblin answered.

"Dwarves?!"

"We found them on the front porch!"

"Well don't just stand them, search them! Every crack, every crevice!"

Luna growled as the goblins were starting to search for any weapons they could find on the dwarves and soon extended their search to their personal possessions. Oïn's ear trumpet was thrown to the ground and brutally crushed and it took four goblins to try and find every weapon Fili was carrying.

"No, leave that!" the young girl exclaimed when the creature that was searching her found the letter she always kept with her in a pocket inside her coat. The goblin took a look at the old parchment and threw it on the pile of the objects that had been taken from them. "Give that back!" she snarled at him and tried to push past him to reach for it but he brutally pushed her back and she stumbled backwards onto Kili who caught her and shot a dark glance at the goblin.

"Touch her again and you die" he threatened him in a voice that Luna had never heard before.

"What are you doing in these parts?" the king asked once the dwarves had been stolen of all their belongings. "Speak!"

Thorin made a move to step forward but Oïn stopped him by putting a hand on his shoulder and stepped in front of the group.

"Don't worry lads, I'll handle this" he assured them.

"No tricks!" the goblin warned. "I want the truth!"

"You're going to have to speak up. Your boys flattened my trumpet" the dwarf said.

"I'll flatten more than your trumpet!" the goblin roared, getting up once again and pointing his stick towards them in a threatening way. From the look of fear on the other goblins around them, Luna could tell they'd better not play with his nerves too much.

"If it's more information you want then I'm the one you should speak to!" Bofur piped in, stepping forward in his turn.

The goblin king looked at him with a suspicious look yet they could tell he was curious. He probably didn't get to capture a whole company of dwarves everyday after all.

Bofur seemed to search his mind for something to tell him for a few seconds, he hadn't quite thought this through.

"We were on the road" he started, "well it's not so much a road as a path. Actually, it's not even that come to think of it…it's more like a track. Anyway, the point is, we were on this road, like a path, like a track…and then we weren't, which is a problem because we were supposed to be in Dunland last Tuesday"

"Visiting distant relations" Dori added behind him.

"A whole group of warriors like you travelling over here? There are safer ways to go and visit distant relations" the goblin spat.

Dori swallowed nervously and Bofur looked around him in the hope to find a clever idea when his eyes landed on Luna and Kili standing a few feet away from him.

"Actually, you're right, it's more than that. We are traveling to Dunland to introduce my young cousin over here to her fiancé's family" he pointed at the two young dwarves who both turned bright red in an instant but, after an insisting look from Bofur, reached for each other's hand and inched closer.

Luna felt like her face was on fire. She didn't know where the dwarf was going with this but it definitely wasn't a good idea…She gave a quick look to Kili, he was blushing too but kept his eyes determinately fixed on the goblin. As she was standing so close to him, she realised that she looked quite petite next to him…in the end, he had indeed grown up a lot. His grip on her hand was strong and gentle at the same time and she noticed how he was keeping her slightly behind him in a protective way that she couldn't help but find cute…she mentally slapped herself, what in Durin's name was she doing? They had just been captured by orcs, now wasn't the time to detail Kili's features.

Only Fili had to repress the amused smile from his face while all the others looked just as surprised as the two so-called fiancés before getting into the game as well. Dori determinately nodded and all the dwarves started confirming what Bofur had just said. Luna felt Gloïn slightly pushing her and Kili to the front so that the goblin king could see them better and she tried to look as innocent and fragile as she could, holding Kili's hand and giving the goblin a shy smile that she hoped looked convincing enough.

The king turned his suspicious eyes in their direction and leant towards them.

"It sure is a pretty thing you found for yourself" he smirked at Kili who shot him a dark glance. "Too bad you can't protect her!"

And with that, in a move so swift none of them saw it coming and that was quite remarkable seeing his enormous size, he grabbed the young girl, closing his fist around her waist and threw her towards two of his guards who caught her and forced her down to her knees, blocking her arms behind her back.

"Luna!"

"How dare you?!"

Kili had made a move to run towards her but the king had pointed the blade of his stick towards him and the dwarves behind him were ready to hold him back. All he could do was to shoot the goblin a murderous glance and try to contain his anger.

"You really think you can come into my mountain, take me for a fool and think that I would let you go like that?" the king barked at them.

He knelt in front of Luna and tipped her chin up to force her to look up at him. Forget the shy innocent girl, she had a deadly gleam in her eyes when she met his and he grinned.

"I have heard of the girl with the moon-shaped scar on her face" he softly said. "Words about your death spread even down here in Goblin Town, until a few days ago, when a rumour that you were alive came to my ears. Tell me now…"

He turned to the company again. The dwarves seemed about to throw themselves at him and rip him apart.

"What are you doing in these parts?" he repeated his question.

He may have looked almost grotesque at the beginning, but right now he was scary.

"Very well" he said when there came no answer, "if they will not talk, we'll make them squawk!"

All the goblins everywhere started cheering loudly and cursing the dwarves. Torture, that is what they liked.

"Bring out the wrangler! Bring out the bone breaker! Start with the girl!"

"No!"

"Luna!"

"Wait!" a loud voice turned everyone silent and Thorin made his way towards the goblin king who looked him up and down then narrowed his eyes.

Luna's face turned to concern when she saw her king stepping forward but he ignored her warning look.

"Well, well, well, look who it is! So that's why the girl captain is traveling in these mountains…"

He took a step back and mockingly bowed in front of the dwarf.

"Thorin, son of Thrain, son of Thror, king under the mountain!" he exclaimed. "Oh, but I'm forgetting! You don't have a mountain!"

Thorin's face remained neutral but anyone would have felt their blood freeze under the stare he gave the goblin.

"You're not a king" the king added in a softer, condescending voice. "Which makes you…no one, really"

His lips curled up into an evil grin.

"I know someone who would pay a pretty price for your head. Just a head, nothing attached", he turned towards Luna again "He might even pay double if I send hers too. Perhaps you know of whom I speak…an old enemy of yours…a pale orc, astride a white warg"

Luna's face paled and she looked at Thorin, biting her lip. This goblin king had heard from Azog and wasn't in unfriendly terms with him, she did not doubt it anymore. By now, she was sure the orc had heard of her being alive and it could only be by him that the goblin had heard it. He had probably been told to look out for her and Thorin. This was really bad.

"Azog the Defiler…was destroyed" the dwarf's voice growled, filled with threats. "He was slain in battle long ago"

"So you think his defiling days are done, do you?"

The goblin had a little laugh as he turned to a tiny little goblin scribe sitting on what looked like a strange little swing.

"Send word to the pale orc. Tell him I have found his prizes"

He turned towards them again as the little scribe went off and gave them his evilest look.

"Kill them all"

* * *

Bilbo heard the snarl before he even opened his eyes. He dared flicker them open and at first, he saw nothing but darkness and it took a little moment before his eyes grew accustomed to the dark. The only light coming at the bottom of the ravine in which he had fallen was very far away above his head but little by little, he was able to see what surrounded him.

The goblin that had attacked him was lying a few feet away, breathing with great difficulty. He wasn't dead yet, but the hobbit knew he wouldn't last long. Himself had been lucky enough to land on huge mushrooms that had cushioned his fall.

The snarl was heard again, closer and Bilbo tightened his grip on his dagger so hard that his knuckles whitened. He narrowed his eyes as a figure stepped out of the darkness and reached for the dying goblin.

"Yes! Yes!" the strange creature whispered. "Yes! Gollum! Gollum!"

The hobbit didn't even dare breathing although the creature was not exactly impressive-looking with its skeletal frame and the way it was all hunched up. Its huge eyes gleamed in the darkness as it stood over the goblin and started dragging him away. Its prey suddenly started kicking at it though and the hobbit watched in horror as it took a stone on the ground and brutally kicked the goblin's head with it over and over again until he was dead for good.

"Nasty goblinses!" Gollum hissed. "Better than old bones, Precious…better than nothing!"

Bilbo waited until he had vanished back into darkness the way he came before standing up and stepping out of his hiding spot.

He looked up the way he had come from, it was hopeless to try and get back up there. As he looked around him to try and find an idea -the only one that popped into his mind was to go and ask this Gollum for a way out, and it wasn't really pleasant-, his eyes caught a glimpse of something shiny on the ground. He bent down to pick it up. It was a ring, a simple golden ring that probably wasn't worth much, yet he didn't know why but when he heard the shouts of Gollum in the distance, he hurriedly hid it in his pocket.

Bilbo had no idea, but finding this little ring was only the beginning of yet another great quest that would start once again in Bag-End.

* * *

The goblin king had resumed his terrible song while the dwarves were being pushed and shoved by the others.

"Let me go!" Luna gritted between her teeth at the two guards who were still holding her down on her knees. All she got was a brutal kick on the head that made her see stars for a few seconds.

Suddenly, a goblin who had been looking at the dwarves' possessions on the ground screeched and tossed Thorin's sword that he had been inspecting on the ground. His king looked at it and let out a gasp of fear while precipitately stepping back towards his throne like a coward.

"I know that sword!" he exclaimed, pointing at it as the other goblins were hurriedly moving away from the blade. "It is the goblin cleaver! The biter! The blade that sliced a thousand necks! Slash them! Beat them! Kill them, kill them all!"

It was almost unnecessary to say ; the goblins had seemed to grow mad at the sight of Thorin's sword and were throwing themselves at the dwarves, hitting them with whips, trying to knock them down to the ground, beating them in every way they could. Luna wasn't spared either : while the two others were still keeping a firm grip on her, a third goblin appeared in front of her with a whip in his hands.

"No!" she shouted and, anger boiling in her veins, she hit the knees of the goblins standing to her right so hard in one swift movement of her leg that she heard a disgusting crack before he fell to the ground with a cry of pain. She didn't give time to the second to try and stop her and managed to avoid the blow he had been ready to give her by rolling on her back. She took a little dagger that they hadn't found earlier out of her boot and threw it straight into his heart before he could reach her.

Suddenly, she caught glimpse of Thorin being pinned to the ground by his assaillants a bit further.

"Cut off his head!" the goblin king shouted as his minions were lowering a dagger towards his throat.

"No!" Luna cried out but before she had the time to make a move, the third goblin, the one who had come with a whip and that she had forgotten about took advantage of her moment of distraction and slashed at her, aiming for her face.

She just had the reflex to snap her head back and shouted in pain when the whip slashed at her neck and throat, tearing the flesh apart. Her vision blurred and she lost her balance from the violence of the shock. She fell to her knees, gasping in pain and vainly tried to kick at the goblin when he stepped towards her and grabbed her hair to pull her head backwards while he was rising his dagger, ready to take her head for good this time.

Kili's eyes passed from his uncle to Luna who were both about to be beheaded and there was nothing he could do. The goblins were blocking the way, he saw Thorin with a murderous gleam in his eyes as the dagger was coming down towards his throat, and Luna that the goblin was brutally holding by the hair down on her knees, ready to give her the final blow. He desperately cried out to them but his cry never got the chance to pass his lips : a bright light suddenly exploded in the middle of the fight, sending a wave of power that knocked everyone, dwarves and goblins alike, to the ground and the noises of the battle were all at once replaced by utter silence.


	13. Confrontations

**Chapter XII : Confrontations**

Luna was pined to the ground by the violence of the shockwave but at least, the goblin let go of his grip on her and was sent flying a few meters away. She then looked up at the cause of this magic and a smile of relief lit up her face when she saw a tall figure with a pointy hat standing in the middle of the platform.

"Take up arms…fight!" Gandalf shouted to the dwarves. "Fight!"

With their hope renewed by the wizard's arrival, the dwarves were on their feet in a second before the goblins had time to understand what had happened and grabbed their weapons from the pile where they had been tossed by the goblins.

Although Luna could feel blood dropping down from the wound left by the whip around her throat, the adrenaline pushed the pain away and she caught her twin blades that Dwalïn tossed her just in time to slay the creature that had whipped her before he could throw himself at her again.

The battle started once again but this time, the advantage seemed to be to the dwarves. The young girl made her way to Thorin, slicing any enemy that stood in her way. She saw Gandalf in the corner of her eye fiercely fighting the goblins that were racing towards him and couldn't repress a grin. There really were two Gandalf sharing the same body : the wise, old wizard smoking his pipe sitting among the flowers and the great fighter that one would better wish to have as a friend than as a foe.

"He wields the Foehammer! The Beater! Bright as daylight!" the goblin king screamed in fear, still lying on the ground where he had been knocked down by the wizard's magic.

Once Bombur was done throwing the weapons to everyone, he turned around and sent a goblin that had just thrown himself at him flying away with one big kick of his huge belly. Kili was already running towards an enemy before he was even tossed his sword and caught it just in time to embed it in his foe's heart that died with a curse on his lips.

"Thorin!" Nori suddenly shouted when he saw that the goblin king had stood up and was about to lower his blade on the dwarf.

Luna met her king's eyes and they exchanged a brief nod then raised their swords at the same time to block the goblin's bow and the shock sent him stumbling backwards, his weight making him lose his balance until he fell down from the platform.

"Follow me! Quick!" Gandalf shouted.

And he started running down a wooden path, the others on his heels and the goblins close behind them.

"Run!" Thorin roared.

Luna looked up, everywhere around them more goblins were coming from every direction and the dwarves literally had to slice their way through them.

"Disgusting creatures" she spat, pushing a body away from her blade with her foot. She shot a quick look behind her shoulder, to check on Fili and Kili. She put herself on the way of an enemy that was about to behead Fili and swiftly blocked the blow before kicking at the goblin to push him from the bridge they were standing on.

"Quick!" she urged the brothers, pushing them forward and they kept running.

Some goblins grabbed long ropes to jump from a platform where they were standing and try to land on them but at Thorin's orders, the ropes were quickly cut loose and the goblins were sent crashing into a collapsing bridge with strangled cries.

"Kili!" Luna shouted when she saw that he was looking at the scene and not paying attention to a goblin aiming an arrow at him. She managed to deviate the arrow with her blade, then a second one and would have been shot by the third one if the young prince had not decided to use a ladder he had just found as a shield and step in front of her.

The ladder blocked a few more arrows then with the help of other dwarves, they let it fall on the goblins running towards them and got their heads stuck in it. They started pushing the ladder forwards until a gap in the bridge in which the goblins fell. They then quickly put the ladder down to fill the gap and used it as a pass.

They joined the rest of the company and kept on running and fighting until they reached another, wider, gap on the wooden path.

Thorin cut the rope holding it and they found themselves swinging on the portion of bridge from one edge of the path to the other.

"Jump!" Thorin yelled and half of the company managed to jump and land on the opposite edge of the gap before the swinging bridge went off again.

This time, Luna was at the back with Fili and when the swing came close enough again to the edge they had cut it from, some goblins jumped on it as well and they tried to push them back.

"Get ready to jump" she told the blonde dwarf, avoiding a mortal blow as the swing was coming to the opposite edge again. Fili nodded but as they were about to go, he grabbed the young girl's arm to force her into following him instead of staying behind to cover them as she always did and they both jumped off just on time and were caught by Thorin who was waiting for them before starting to run again.

They took a couple of turns behind which they found more goblins every time. Seeing a dozen of them running towards them, Gandalf broke a massive boulder free from the mountain's rocky walls with his stick and pushed it in front of him to crush the enemies underneath it.

Luna was keeping an eye on the brothers and hoped that Dwalin or Gandalf was looking after Thorin. The three young dwarves never really left each other, it was in their habit to always follow one another and were more than used to fight side by side, that's why Luna ran straight into Kili's back who himself had run straight into his brother's when the company was suddenly taken to a halt on an unsteady-looking bridge. The goblin king appeared out of nowhere, breaking through the wood of the bridge and stood in front of Gandalf, giving him an evil grin.

"You thought you could escape me!" he exclaimed as the goblins were surrendering the bridge on both sides.

He laughed when he sent Gandalf stumbling backwards and the wizard was caught by the dwarves who pushed him back on his feet to face the goblin.

"What are you gonna do now, wizard?" the fat king asked.

Without a moment of hesitation, Gandalf sliced at his huge belly and Luna couldn't hide the expression of disgust on her face as he cried out in pain and fell to his knees.

"That'll do it" he said before collapsing with all his weight on the fragile bridge.

The girl suddenly felt the ground moving underneath her feet and the whole structure started to shake.

"Mahal, no…" she muttered, unconsciously grabbing Kili by the arm and looking down at the gulf under them.

The young dwarf pulled her against him and closed his arms around her just before the old structure gave out and plunged down into the abyss with the whole company still standing on it.

Luna closed her eyes without even realising it and clung onto Kili as hard as she could, scared that if she let him go, one of them would be sent flying away.  
Fortunately, the bridge was long enough for its fall to be slowed down by both its sides scraping against the rock walls of the ravine that got closer and closer as they were nearing the bottom of it.  
Finally, it crashed at the bottom with enough force to crush the dwarves between the big pieces of wood.

For a couple of seconds, nothing was heard but the groans and muttered curses of the dwarves. Luna found herself lying on top of Kili and couldn't help but think that this company really had an issue with unsteady grounds. It was the third time in twenty-four hours that they had found themselves with the ground opening or collapsing underneath their feet. She reopened her eyes and instantly lost herself in Kili's who were looking at her in concern, their faces inches apart. For a brief instant, everything around them seemed to disappear ; the collapsed bridge, the mountain, the company,…there were only the both of them, half-buried under the pieces of wood. None of them had loosened his grip on the other yet ; Kili still had his arms holding the young girl close to him and Luna was clenching onto his shirt, not willing to let go. Their faces were so close that the young girl could feel his breath on her skin and after a couple of seconds, Kili's eyes unconsciously landed on her lips for such a short instant she would later wonder for long if it had not just been her imagination.

Then, as suddenly as it had happened, the moment ended and they were brutally brought back to reality when the massive body of the goblin king landed on top of the bridge, just after Bofur had tried to cheer them up by an innocent "Well, that could have been worse"

Kili searched Luna's eyes again but she had broken the contact and was already trying to extirpate herself from the wreckage.

"You've got to be joking" Dwalin muttered next to them, trying as well to move away from the mess.

That's when the young dwarf saw the hundreds of goblins racing down the rock walls towards them.

"Gandalf!" he shouted.

They all looked up in horror and started moving faster to get back on their feet.

"We can't fight them! There's too many!" Dwalin exclaimed.

"Only one thing will save us now…daylight!" Gandalf nodded, hurrying the dwarves to leave the place.

Fili who had been lucky to not be crushed under too many pieces of the bridge raced towards the spot where Kili and Luna were still trying to extirpate themselves from the ruins.

"I am sorry to break your cozy reunion, but we need to move" he said with a little grin, pulling Luna free then helping his brother up.

"Fili, not the time" the young girl gritted between her teeth, pushing them both before her to get them as far away as here as possible and to hide her reddening cheeks.

They ran after the others along a tunnel at the end of which they could see daylight shining. Finally, they had found the way out and it was just on time, the goblins were not far behind! None of them doubted that at this very moment, Bilbo was watching them running past him, invisible thanks to a magic ring he had put on his finger to escape Gollum and find his way out of the mountain as well.

The company did not stop running once they came out of the mountain : they needed to put as much distance as possible between the goblins and them. Luna sighted in relief and took a deep breath of fresh air as soon as she stepped out of the tunnel into daylight and thought that despite the fact that she was a dwarf, she had never been so happy to leave a mountain.

They ran into a forest and waited until they had come far enough under the cover of the trees to stop running.

Gandalf looked around him and started counting the dwarves. "Bifur, Bofur, that's ten…Fili, Kili, Luna! That's thirteen…and Bombur, that makes fourteen" he muttered to himself.

The young girl wasn't disappointed to finally be able to stop. Her legs were shaking from the effort and the exhaustion, plus the wounds she had gotten -mostly the one left by the whip around her throat- had made her lose a lot of blood and she was starting to feel dizzy as the pain had come back. She went down on a knee to try and focus her vision and to avoid collapsing when a call from the wizard made her blood freeze in her veins.

"Where's Bilbo?" he asked. "Where is our hobbit?"

Only then did the dwarves notice that they hadn't seen him since they had first arrived in Golbin Town. While they were all looking around, hoping he was there somewhere, Luna bit her lip.

"Where is our hobbit?!" Gandalf exclaimed, anger in his voice.

"Curse the halfling!" Gloin roared. "Now he's lost!"

"I thought he was with Dori!"

"Don't blame me!"

"Where did you last see him?" Gandalf asked.

"The orcs hadn't seen him when we landed in their trap. I nodded to him and he managed to slip away" Luna piped in, getting up and trying to keep her balance.

She didn't want to believe that any harm had come to the hobbit. If that was the case, she would never forget herself. She had found a friend in him and in some way, felt responsible for him.

"What happened next? Tell me!" the wizard exclaimed.

"I'll tell you what happened!" Thorin spat. "Master Baggins saw his chance and he took it. He's thought of nothing but his soft bed and his warm hearth since first he stepped out of his door"

Luna knew she was in no position to confront her king but she couldn't stand him talking about the hobbit like that. She stepped forward and shot him a dark glance.

"You're wrong" she snapped at him. All the dwarves turned their eyes towards her at the same time and widened their eyes. Luna had never raised her voice against anyone before and especially not Thorin. Even him looked completely taken aback at first then stepped towards her in his turn and looked down on her from all his height.

Kili made a move to reach for the young girl and pull her backwards but Fili put a hand on his shoulder to prevent him from doing anything that would make their uncle even angrier.

Luna swallowed nervously but didn't unlock eyes with Thorin. He was impressive, he was her king but he was also insulting her friend and that was something she couldn't stand above all.

"Bilbo will never turn his back on us. He is brave and loyal although you refuse to see it" she said. "He's put up with everything you've snapped at him so far, never complaining and always following you on a quest he couldn't possibly care about from the start. He was more than helpful on many occasions…and now, while he might be in danger you are ready to leave him like that because you assumed that he went back home?"

It seemed that none of them even dared breathing at this point. The tension was palpable. From this perspective, Luna almost looked like a little girl standing in front of him, looking up to meet his eyes yet she didn't stop, now that she had started she would speak her mind.

"He is part of the company, Thorin, whether you want it or not. Everyone here sees him as one of us now…is this really how we treat our companions? By abandoning them? That is not how I have been raised, I'm sorry and if he is still in there then I'm going back to find him"

For a little moment, not a sound was heard, not even the birds sang, as if even them were waiting for Thorin's reaction. Kili thought that if he had been standing in Luna's place right now, he would have wished to vanish into the ground and would have probably at least backed away under his uncle's glare. The dwarf king seemed to make a huge effort to control himself and not yell at the girl and when his words finally came out of his mouth, they were full of threats and anger.

"You have no right to speak against me, has your father taught you nothing?" he muttered in an icy voice, "It seems that you still have a lot to learn before you can even pretend to his title so I suggest that you remain silent, girl. Do not make me regret my decision of agreeing to your presence in the company"

Although Luna tried to let nothing appear on her face, she clenched her fists to control her shaking and keep herself from hitting Thorin straight in the face.

"Do not…talk to me about my father" she muttered so low that only him heard her. He was about to answer when he saw the murderous gleam in her eyes and understood that he had hurt her. He just gave her one last sharp glance before turning back to Gandalf once again, breaking the tension.

"We will not be seeing our hobbit again" he declared. "He is long gone"

The dwarves looked at each other, saddened and uncomfortable about what had just happened. Most of the them were shooting bad glances at Thorin and amongst them all, he caught Dwalin's disapproval look.

"No he isn't"

They all startled and turned around to find the hobbit looking at them from a rock on which he was standing. Some of the dwarves' jaws dropped in surprise while others couldn't subdue the big relieved smiles from their faces.

"Bilbo Baggins!" Gandalf exclaimed. "I've never been so glad to see anyone in my life!"

The hobbit stepped down from his rock and walked towards them, clapping Balin's shoulder as he walked past him.

"Bilbo!" Kili sighted. "We'd given you up!"

"How on earth did you get past the goblins?" Fili asked.

"How indeed?" Dwalin repeated in a lower voice.

The hobbit's eyes flashed from Fili to Dwalin then to Luna who was watching at him with pride and some tears in her eyes. He hesitated for a few seconds then chuckled and discreetly stuffed the ring back in his pocket.

"Well does it matter? He's back!" Gandalf said, trying to lighten up the mood.

"It matters" Thorin insisted. "I want to know. Why did you come back?"

The dwarves' happy faces disappeared in a second at their king's question. Bilbo's eyes quickly met Luna's again and he gave her a little smile before turning towards Thorin. None of them knew but he had actually been hiding behind a tree during the argument between the two dwarves and Luna's words and attitude towards him had warmed up his heart and lit up his courage.

"Look, I know you doubt me, I know you always have" he started, "and you're right. I often think of Bag-End. I miss my books…and my armchair, and my garden…See, that's where I belong. That's home. And that's why I came back…because you don't have one, a home. It was taken from you"

He paused for a few seconds. The dwarves were listening to him in a respectful silence and even Thorin's face had changed from angry to surprised.

"But I will help you take it back if I can" he ended.

From the corner of his eyes, he saw Luna offering him the brightest smile he had ever seen and after a few seconds, even Thorin gave him a small nod of gratefulness. The dwarves just stood there for a moment, looking fondly at the hobbit who in this moment they really admired and Gandalf smiled to himself. He had definitely been well-inspired to bring him along on this journey.

Thorin made a move to turn to Luna with the feeling that he owed her at least a few words of apologies for his behaviour and his harsh words but a long howl suddenly broke the silence and they snapped their heads back to the mountain they had just come.

The smiles instantly faded…after the goblins, the orcs had found them once again.

"Out of the frying pan…" Thorin whispered.

"…and into the fire!" Gandalf finished his sentence. "Run!"


	14. The Defiler

_**And here it is already, the end of the first movie! Thank you again for your reviews and for those who followed/favourited, it means a lot to me :) Please keep reviewing, I love to read what you guys think of this story! I promise that very soon, the relationship between Kili and Luna will grow more and more ambiguous...in the meanwhile, **_**_enjoy this chapter!_**

**Chapter XIII : The Defiler**

All the tiredness and the pain left the dwarves again as they raced through the trees, the howls and barks of the wargs growing ever closer behind them.

The sun was already setting and all of a sudden, their flight was cut short by a cliff opening before them.

"Up into the trees!" Gandalf yelled, pointing at a couple of tall pines trees that stood on the very edge of the cliff, above the nothingness.

The dwarves didn't take the time to consider the option, there didn't seem to be any other at the moment anyway and they all started climbing up the branches.

Luna watched Fili expertly grab a low branch and pull himself up as if it was the easiest thing in the world then he held out his hand to his brother although it was almost unnecessary regarding that Kili was as agile as him when it came to climbing trees.

"Luna!" the young one held his hand out to her in his turn and pulled her up onto the branch.

The first wargs arrived at that moment and threw themselves at the trees, trying to bite the legs of the dwarves who hadn't climbed high enough, their jaws snapping just below them.

"We must go higher" Fili's voice came to the two youngest's ears and the firmly nodded : the teeth of the beasts were far too close to them.

They climbed up a few more branches and Luna looked around her. Night had fallen very quickly and the company was trapped in the trees with the wolves beneath them and nowhere to escape.

The orcs arrived at that moment, stopping a few meters away from the trees and a huge white warg made its way through the others to a large rock wide enough for it to stand on it. The young girl's eyes widened when she saw its rider and a shiver ran down her spine.

"Azog" a voice gasped.

She didn't need to turn around to know it was Thorin who was looking at the giant warg orc with an expression mixing shock and anger.

"Do you smell it?" the Defiler spoke in black speech. "The smell of fear. I remember your father reeked of it, Thorin son of Thrain"

The young girl swallowed. She had never seen him for real, he had always sent troops to kill her family and herself but had never come in person so she had only ever heard descriptions of him. When she was a child, even the stories she was told were enough to scare her but seeing in real life was a whole other experience…Everything about him was frightening and threatening, from his posture to the blade he had to replace the arm Thorin had taken from him at the battle of Moria.

She took her eyes off the orc to give a quick look across to Thorin who looked like he was seeing a ghost that he wished to send back to hell with a glance.

And it was only getting worse…three of the four trees on which the dwarves had climbed started cracking under the attacks of the beasts and before she even realised it, the tree she was in started to fall towards another one.

"Jump!" Kili cried out and they threw themselves on a branch of the second tree once they came close enough but of course, it wasn't going to stop there : already that tree was falling down as well and they more or less managed to jump from one tree to another until the last one that stood on the every edge of the cliff. The whole company found themselves in the same tree and under them, the wargs were pushing against the trunk to have it fall over the edge.

"Fili!"

They gazed up to Gandalf who had set fire to a pinecone with his magic and tossed it to the blonde dwarf. Understanding, he threw it at a warg trying to climb up their tree and the beast backed away, howling in fear at the sight of the fire.

With such a motivating result, the wizard started tossing more and more pinecones to everyone and soon, all the wolves had prudently stepped back, growling at the dwarves but not daring to come any closer to the flames.

The dwarves' cheers and relived smiles didn't last long though : they heard a terrible crack underneath their feet and the tree started collapsing towards the edge of the cliff.

"Hold on!" someone shouted but the frightened dwarves were already strongly holding onto the branches or the trunk. Luna gasped when she saw that they were about to plunge down into the nothingness but the roots of the tree proved strong enough to maintain it in an horizontal position above the cliff.  
The young girl looked around her with horrified eyes. Some, like Thorin, had been lucky enough to be on the right side of the trunk, the one that was now facing towards the sky and thus found themselves laying on it but others were less fortunate, including Dori and Ori who were desperately holding onto Gandalf's staff, dangerously swinging above the nothingness.  
She herself had been quite lucky : her upper body was resting on a branch, her legs balancing above the void, at least offering her a steady hold on the tree.

Azog was smirking at the dwarves, knowing that they didn't stand a chance and it would be his greatest delight to see them perish there.

Thorin looked up towards him and locked eyes with him. The glance they were exchanging was one of pure hatred. The dwarf barely looked at his men holding on for their lives, right now, nothing else mattered than his old enemy sitting on his warg a few meters away from him, his old enemy who he had thought dead for so many years…

Grabbing his sword as well as a piece of broken branch to use as a shield, he stood up and stepped off the trunk on the cliff again, walking towards the Defiler.

Balin's face paled, Gandalf's turned into an horrified expression but it seemed that none of them were able to go after him as he was racing towards the white orc.

"No! Thorin!" Luna shouted.

If he heard her, he didn't pay attention. She tried to haul herself onto the trunk to follow him when Kili grabbed her arm.

"No, Luna!"

"Let me go!" she snapped, trying to free her arm from his grip.

"It's too dangerous"

"It's my job! He is your uncle!"

Kili's eyes seemed desperate when he met hers.

"I can't lose you again…" he whispered.

That made her pause for a second. She looked into his eyes and got lost in them again for a few seconds. It was a bit like after their fall down the ravine on the bridge in Goblin Town ; an oddly pleasant connection settled between them until it was broken by Balin who let out a desperate cry when Thorin was hit by Azog's weapon and violently sent to the ground.

"No!"

Luna mentally slapped herself and broke the contact with Kili.

"You won't" she simply answered before pulling herself up on her feet.

"Luna!" the young dwarf called but it was too late ; already, she had seized her twin blades and was racing after Thorin.

Kili met his brother's worried glance and the blonde tried to give him a reassuring nod. In all his life, Fili had never seen so much fear in his brother's eyes and he knew that this fear wasn't for himself but was directed to the young girl.

The huge white warg had seized Thorin between his jaws and was about to kill him when Luna arrived and with a shout of rage, slashed with her blades at the wolf's head, causing it to drop the dwarf and howl in pain. Thorin landed a bit further on his back, not able to move anymore and watched as Azog was turning his glance towards the young girl.

Luna swallowed nervously but shot the pale orc a determined look and tightened her grip on her blades. Azog's lips stretched into a terrible smile.

"Ah, finally we meet" he said in the common speech, his words full of icy threats. "The girl with the moon-shaped scar"

"My name is Luna" she spat.

"Then I shall carve it on your tomb"

He kicked the sides of his warg with his heels and the beast leaped towards the young girl who just had enough time to plunge to the ground. She raised her blades as the beast jumped above her and cut its belly open. The white wolf collapsed to the ground with one last agonising howl and Azog slowly stood up, rage flowing through his blood.

He briefly turned his eyes towards another orc who was sitting on his warg a bit further.

"Bring me the dwarf's head" he ordered in black speech, pointing at Thorin who was still lying on the ground. "I have another matter to deal with here"

He turned to Luna again and the young girl's eyes flashed to the second orc who had dismounted and was walking towards Thorin.

She made a move to go and stop him but in a fraction of second, Azog was standing in front of her and raised his arm blade to kill her. She blocked his blow but the violence of it still sent her a few feet backwards.

She couldn't let Thorin be killed, she tried once again to pass Azog but he stopped her, it almost looked like a game to him. Understanding she wouldn't be able to walk past him to go and save Thorin, she threw herself towards him, and aimed at his chest but he blocked her. She spun around to free her weapon from his and tried to attack again but he avoided her blow and sent his massue swinging in her direction. She ducked to avoid being beheaded and felt the massive weapon passing inches from her head, cutting off a lock of hair.

She quickly gave a look across at Thorin and gasped when she saw that the orc was standing above him, his sword raised above his head, ready to kill.

"No!" she shouted but her cry was cut short when Azog, taking advantage of her little moment of distraction, grabbed her by the throat with his valid arm and lifted her up.

"It that really it? It that all the captain of Erebor can do?" he smirked.

He suddenly snapped his head around when they heard a strangled cry and found that the orc who had been about to take Thorin's head had just been attacked and killed by Bilbo.  
The hobbit stood in front of the dwarf who, after one last gasp of pain, fell unconscious and although he was scared, he shot Azog his darkest glance, strongly holding his elvish dagger.

"Release her" he said in a shaking voice.

If Luna had not barely been able to breath because of the pale orc's tight grip around her throat, she would have yelled at the hobbit to run away but at the same time, she felt proudest than ever of him.

Azog gave him a sharp look then threw his head back and laughed. The young girl felt a shiver ran through her spine, his laugh was the most terrifying sound she had ever heard. She groaned when he shook her but took advantage of the fact that for the first time, his attention wasn't directed at her to grab a little knife she always kept attached to her tight and violently stabbed him in the hand.

His laugh suddenly turned into a cry of pain and he dropped her. Luna collapsed to the ground and before she had time to move away, he kicked her so violently that she heard her ribs crack and was sent into the air to brutally land a few feet away, coughing blood.

"Is that all?" Azog asked as she was raising herself on her elbows, wincing at the sharp pain in her thorax. "It this all that is left of the Royal Guard of Erebor? A little girl for a captain and a hobbit guard?"

Luna quickly gave a look at Bilbo, did Azog really think he was a guard?

"You are alone, girl" he added.

Two massive legs suddenly appeared in front of Luna who was still half-lying on the ground and their owner stood in front of her, facing the pale orc. Looking up, she found Dwalin, his axe in hand.

"No she's not" the dwarf growled.

At that moment, the dwarves who hadn't been in a too bad situation on the tree and had managed to climb back up arrived and raced past him and Luna to attack the orcs and wargs and the battle started.

Dwalin turned around and kneeled down next to the young girl.

"Are ye alright?" he asked.

She nodded, still stunned by his actions and accepted the hand he offered her to pull her up on her feet.

"Look out!" she cried out when a warg raced towards them behind Dwalin's back and she pushed the dwarf to the side and welcomed the wolf with her twin blades that she fiercely embedded into its skull.

Dwalin gave her a small nod then they joined in the fight.

They didn't stand many chances, only a couple of dwarves against the pack of orcs and their montures but a fire was burning in their veins and they wouldn't let their king at the mercy of their ennemies.

Fili and Kili were fighting back to back as they often did, cutting down any enemy that dared come too close to them and Luna soon joined them to form their usual trio.

On the other side, Bilbo was still standing in front of Thorin, ready to protect the dwarf against any foe and he swallowed nervously when Azog turned his glance towards him. The girl was now fighting with the others, Oakenshield was at his mercy and he doubted that a poor hobbit would stop him from putting an end to the line of Durin. Once he would be done with that pretended dwarf king, he would take the captain's life as well and those who would still be alive by then would die knowing that their quest was going to be a failure from the start.

He grinned in an evil way as he neared the hobbit whose face was starting to decompose then suddenly, the hobbit's eyes caught something behind the orc and his jaw dropped in surprise.

Azog turned to see what had surprised him and quickly had to step aside when a gigantic eagle swooped towards them. Bilbo ducked and the eagle grabbed Thorin's limp body in its claw then flew away. The Defiler narrowed his eyes when he looked around to see more eagles arriving from every direction and killing the orcs and their rides. Like Thorin, the dwarves were being picked up one by one and soon, all those who had still been hanging to the collapsed tree were being carried away by the giant birds.

Bilbo was soon picked up as well, leaving the pale orc alone on the spot where he had been about to finally take Thorin Oakenshield's head moments ago. He roared in pain then his eyes caught sight of the three youngest dwarves who hadn't been carried away by eagles yet and were still standing there, a few meters away.  
Maybe Thorin had escaped him this time but he wouldn't let Laïn's daughter run away as well. Raising his massue, he roared and sprinted towards her while she was looking at the eagles in awe, not paying attention to the fight anymore.

Fortunately, Fili noticed Azog running towards them.

"Luna!" he yelled. He and Kili both made a move to reach for the girl and push her out of the way when suddenly, they were picked up by an eagle that they hadn't seen coming.

"No!" Kili shouted as he and his brother were being carried away.

Luna snapped her head around, not understanding what had just happened. One second, Fili was yelling her name, the next one the brothers were flying away with one of the giant rapaces. Before her mind had the time to register that, a violent kick suddenly sent her to the ground, and she cried out in pain when she brutally landed on her already broken ribs.

She opened her eyes just on time to see Azog grab her by the throat once again and lift her up. She had the reflex to reach for the little dagger attached to her tight that she had used to stab his hand the first time but realised in horror that it wasn't there anymore.

"Before I kill you, I am curious...how did you survive?" the pale orc muttered beneath his breath.

Even if she had wanted to answer, she couldn't have. His grip on her was so strong she was barely able to draw breaths. The wound on her throat that she had gotten from the whip in Goblin Town had reopened and she feared for a moment that he might tear her head off her shoulders.

Azog sharpened his eyes then all of a sudden, a strong gust of wind had him stumble backwards and despite her vision that was starting to be blurred by dark spots, the young girl distinguished the shape of another eagle swooping towards them and felt more than she saw its claws closing around her body.

"No!" the orc yelled but he was forced to let go of the girl : the rapace was too powerful even for him and he might lose his arm if he tried to hold on to her.

He watched as she escaped him and his roar of anger was echoed in the mountains as the eagles were now all flying away towards the rising sun.

Luna flew for a few seconds into the air until suddenly, the eagle that was carrying her opened its claw. She screamed without realising it when she fell into the nothingness until she was suddenly caught by someone and only then realised that the eagle had just dropped her onto the back of another rapace which was precisely the one that had picked Fili and Kili up.

She met the brothers' worried glances above her and gave them the most reassuring nod she could although she wasn't able to hide her wince of pain. She raised herself into a sitting position to free Kili's arms who were holding her but the young dwarf kept a firm grip on her and to tell the truth, she wasn't too unhappy about that...

A bit further, Thorin was still unconscious in the claw of the eagle carrying him and she prayed that he was alright when Fili yelled his name and he didn't wake up.

Most of the dwarves weren't conformable at all high up in the sky, and she no less than the others. She could tell that Kili behind her wasn't entirely reassured either from the way he was keeping his arms tightly wrapped around her waist. What she did not know is that the dwarf had feared once again he might lose her and wasn't willing to let go of her now. Feeling her against him, her tiny frame between his arms at least gave him the comfort that she was more or less alright and had survived once more. He took her hand in his when she warmly squeezed it and they watched the sun rise from the eagle's back.

* * *

The giant birds carried them to the top of a tall bear-shaped rock that marked the end of the Misty Mountains that they had finally passed.  
As soon as Gandalf was on his feet, he raced towards Thorin who had been laid down on his back and kneeled above him, whispering some incantations. The dwarves who had now all landed on the rock watched in a tensed silence until at last, their king gasped and opened his eyes.  
Sights of reliefs were heard coming from everyone and Luna slightly pushed the young brothers forward to go and help their uncle up on his feet.

"The Halfling…Luna…" Thorin muttered.

"It's alright" Gandalf sighted. "They are here, and quite safe"

Kili and Dwalin helped him to his feet and he turned to Bilbo

"You!" he snapped at him. "What were you doing?! You nearly got yourself killed!"

Silence fell on the company as the watched the scene with incredulous faces. Luna narrowed her eyes.

"Did I not say that you would be a burden? That you would not survive in the wild?" Thorin went on, walking towards the hobbit whose face decomposed. "That you had no place amongst us?!"

Bilbo looked down to his feet. Luna took a step forward, ready to intervene when Thorin suddenly pulled the hobbit towards him in a tight embrace.

"I have never been so wrong in all my life" he ended and the dwarves cheered.

The young girl smiled while Bilbo was awkwardly answering Thorin's embrace then he let go a few seconds later and fondly looked at the hobbit.

"I'm sorry I doubted you"

"No, I…I would have doubted me too" Bilbo answered. "I'm not a hero…or a warrior. Not even a burglar" he added, turning his eyes to Gandalf who chuckled.

Thorin then turned towards Luna and he frowned when she humbly lowered her head.

He walked towards her and tipped her chin up to look into her eyes. She tried her best to keep a neutral expression and hide the pain from her face.

"Luna…please forgive me for how I acted and talked to you when we came out of Goblin Town. I…" He sighted. "You are a greater captain than you think, a greater captain that I could have wished for. I know you didn't want to call yourself so until then but from now on, to me you are the rightful captain of the Royal Guard of Erebor"

The dwarves cheered again around them and she respectfully bowed her head.

"_My sword and life are yours until death takes me_," she spoke in Khûzdul. Thorin smiled and the dwarves around them respectfully bowed. The words she had just said were those of the vow the captains took when officially given the title.

Gandalf nodded in approval and when Dwalin met Luna's eyes, he gave her a little smile then slightly bowed his head and she returned his smile.

Thorin's eyes caught a glimpse of something behind Luna's shoulder and his eyes widened as he walked past her towards the edge of the rock.

The others noticed it as well and followed him.

"Is that what I think it is?" Bilbo asked, seeing what had caught the dwarves' attention : the shape of a single solitary peek standing in the distance.

"Erebor, the lonely mountain" Gandalf nodded. "The last great dwarf kingdom of Middle Earth"

"Our home" Thorin whispered.

Even Luna, with all her doubts about the fact that Erebor could really once be a place she would call home, felt tears welling up in her eyes at the sight of the mountain and proudly looked at its distant form.

"A raven!" Oïn exclaimed, pointing at a bird flying above them. "The birds are returning to the mountain!"

"That, my dear Oïn, is a thrush" Gandalf corrected.

"We will take it as a sign" Thorin said. "A good omen"

"You're right" Bilbo nodded next to him. "I do believe the worst is behind us"

Luna let out a quiet, ironic exclamation at that. She was the only one among them whose eyes quickly left the mountain to trail on the distance separating them from it and she had the feeling that it wasn't going to be that easy...


	15. Healing and feelings

**Chapter XIV : Healing and feelings****  
**  
The company spent the biggest part of the day climbing down the tall rock the eagles had taken them to. There were narrow stairs running down one side of it and they all followed in line. Their progress was slow due to the riskiness of the task and the fact that most of them had been wounded -either in Golbin Town, facing the orcs or both- and were really starting to feel the pain coming back in their bodies. On top of that, they hadn't really rested since that night in the cave just before being captured by the goblins and they all felt exhausted.

When they finally arrived on ground level, the descent had left them all sore and in desperate need for a halt but Gandalf insisted that they moved on to find a safe place to make camp. Although the eagles had put a respectable distance between them and the orcs, it was still better to take precautions : mounted on their wargs, their ennemies could show themselves very quick to catch up and their flight had probably driven Azog mad with anger ; he would try and stop them again as soon as he could.

They followed the wizard for another hour or two and when he finally stopped in a little clearing, the sun was already setting.  
Moans of pain and grunts were heard from everywhere when the dwarves were finally able to stop and most of them dropped to the ground in exhaustion. The only strengths they had left would be used to healed themselves then eat.

While Bofur was helping Bombur start a fire to cook the dinner, Oïn prepared his medical equipment and called for all those who had injuries to look after to come to him.

The dwarves went one by one : all of them had at least gotten cuts and bruises.

Luna had let herself drop to the ground as soon as they had stopped walking. Laying on her back next to a big rock, she closed her eyes for a few moments, trying to relax her tensed body and steady her breathing. She barely noticed when Fili and Kili sat on both sides of her.

"Are you alright?" the blonde asked in a little voice that couldn't conceal his own exhaustion. She simply nodded and considered sitting up as well but screw it, she was too tired to move right now. Flickering her eyes open, she saw that the two brothers were just sitting there, watching the others go to Oïn one by one, too tired to even try to talk or tease each other.

She let her eyes trail on the company for a moment. She could see many bad cuts and bruises on the dwarves that the healer was taking care of and noticed how he took a longer time with Thorin who had suffered quite a lot from his fight against Azog.

When it was Ori's turn to go to Oïn, she repressed a smile when he shot a quick, embarrassed glance in her direction and closed her eyes again, understanding he was shy to take his shirt off in front of a girl.

"Aren't you two injured?" she asked the brothers after a little moment.

Fili slowly nodded. They had been lucky enough to be spared injuries such as their uncle's or Luna's but had still gotten a few bad hits especially from the goblins and although they hadn't had time to take a look, they were convinced their bodies weren't in such a great state.

"You should go" Kili said, his eyes flashing to the wound on her throat and her blood-soaked clothes.

"Go first and tell Oïn that I think I have a few cracked ribs"

A flash of worry passed in the young dwarf's eyes while his brother got up.

"We'll be back" Fili said and then walked towards the healer, pulling Kili along.

Luna rolled onto her side to watch them walk away.

"She is in a worst state than all of us, she should go before us" Kili argued to his brother.

"Oïn will look after her as soon as he is done with the rest of us. I doubt she will agree to take her shirt off in front of the whole company, right?" Fili said, rolling his eyes.

His brother's face turned bright red and he looked down at his feet to hide his blush but Fili could not help shooting him a wide grin.

"Although you wouldn't mind too much, would you brother?" he teased him in a low voice so that only him could here.

For all answer, Kili elbowed him in the stomach.

"What did you lads get?" Oïn asked when they sat down on the grass in front of him.

"I'm not entirely sure, definitely some cuts and bruises. Nothing broken I reckon" Fili answered.

"Same here…plus I think an arrow flew a bit too close to me in Golbin Town, it might have scratched my side" Kili added.

"Alright, let's have a look. Shirts off"

* * *

Even from where she was laying on the ground, Luna could see that the brothers had gotten quite a few kicks. Fili had a large purple bruise on his back on which Oïn put an ointment, as well as a sore muscle in his shoulder that the healer massaged for a good fifteen minutes. Kili on the other side had indeed been scratched by an arrow on his side that had left a trail of blood running down towards his hip and that Oïn cleaned, and bandaged.

The young girl could almost hear her father questioning her on how she could have kept the princes from getting those injuries and she let out a little sight. At least they were alive, both of them, and Thorin too.  
Without realising it, she let her glance trail on Kili's bare torso and before she knew it, found herself detailing his features. The only thing he now had in common with the little dwarf she had befriended decades ago were his messy hair and warm brown eyes ; for the rest, the little boy had grown, and quite well…

Under his warm golden skin, his muscles were tensed from their adventures of the past few days and damn it, he was quite muscular in the end…maybe not as much as Fili but still, she hadn't realised that he was so strong.

"Enjoying the scenery?" came a little voice behind her, brutally taking her out of her contemplation.

She startled and snapped her head back to see Bofur watching her with an enigmatic smile.

"I don't know what you're talking about" she mumbled, turning on her back again as if nothing had happened.

"I am almost tempted to ask you which one of the two you were admiring…but that would just be for the sake of teasing you, I know very well which brother caught your eye, lass"

"I wasn't admiring anyone"

"Kili has grown up a lot, hasn't he?"

"Leave me alone"

Bofur chuckled but didn't say anything more as she closed her eyes, hoping she wasn't blushing too much. What on earth was she doing? It was the second time in a very short time that she found herself detailing the young dwarf in such a way. Alright, he was beautiful, strong and whatsoever but he was her friend and most of all, a heir of Durin that she was in charge to protect. She couldn't let her mind slip away from her mission, by no means should her focus deviate from the quest.

No, this was all due to her tiredness. Plus she had lost quite a lot of blood too, she hadn't told the others but her head was **spinning**, that's partly why she stayed laying on the ground and probably why she was starting to imagine things with Kili, her mind was playing tricks on her. She did not like him, not in that way, no matter what the others sometimes jokingly said.

_But if she did…_

Even if she did, that didn't mean at all that he was having the same thoughts. How could a young handsome prince like him ever set his eyes on her and see someone else than his childhood friend or his captain? It was impossible that the dwarf ever grew feelings for her.

_But if he did…_

And in the highly unlikely case where they would both find in each other something more than friendship, in the case where they might even end up loving each other -she barely dared to even think about that word-, nothing would ever happen. He was a prince of Erebor, she was the captain sworn to protect him and his family until her death. Not exactly the kind of relationships that starts on good bases…Plus, he was from royalty and only a noble lady from a highly respectable family, if possible a princess, could ever match with him, not a young captain girl, last member of a devastated line like her and she was sure that Thorin would personally take care of this.

She let out a deep sight and winced at the pain it caused in her ribs. Even with her eyes closed, her head was spinning. She could feel her strengths leaving her little by little and slowly let darkness creep over her.

* * *

"Luna!"

"Wake up, Luna!"

The young girl heard the voices calling after her as if from a distance. Her throat was on fire and terrible flashes of pain irradiated from her thorax to her whole body.

"What's happening to her?"

"Her state is worse than I had thought, I should have started with her"

Feeling a hand on her forehead, she forced her eyes open and the worried faces of the company appeared above her. Oïn was kneeling besides her, checking her pulse, Kili was on the other side, Fili standing next to him.

"Luna!" the young brother exclaimed, relief briefly replacing the concern in his eyes.

"Can you stand, lass? We'll go a bit further" Oïn said.

She nodded and with their help, forced herself into a sitting position but as soon as she moved, the pain flashing from her ribs almost had her cry out and her vision blurred for a few seconds. She would have fallen if Kili had not been holding her.

The dwarves exchanged a worried look.

"Luna…"

"I'll take her" Kili suddenly said.

Oïn nodded and he put one arm around her waist and the other under her knees then carefully lifted her from the ground, trying not to shake her too much and followed the healer to a place where the young girl could be healed in intimacy.

The young dwarf carefully laid her down on the ground again and Oïn knelt besides her.

"Stay" he said as Kili made a move to leave them and go back to the camp. "I might need some help"

He nodded and stayed there, Luna's head on his lap.

"I need to take a look at your ribs, lass" Oïn apologetically said.

She nodded but before he would pull her shirt off, she looked up at Kili and shot him a warning look.

"If you dare look at anything…" she muttered in a voice that despite the pain was still threatening.

"Not much to look at anyway" he chuckled and knew that he would regret his words as soon as she would be in a good enough shape to beat him up for them.

She shot him a murderous glance and he averted his eyes while Oïn lifted her shirt.

"Turn around, lass, I think it's more in your back that they are cracked"

She carefully turned to lay on her stomach with Kili's help and winced in pain but at least, now both her chest and bright red cheeks were hidden from his view.

The young dwarf was madly blushing as well. He may have closed his eyes to not see her but had had to turn her around all the same and a shrill had ran up his spine as his hands touched the bare skin of her waist. At that moment, he furiously wanted to be alone with her, just the two of them…not to do anything of course, just to be with her alone for once, away from the others and away from the quest.

He mentally slapped and thankfully, came back to a bit more senses when his eyes landed on her back. He bit his lip and cursed the goblins and the orcs under his breath at the sight of her bruised skin. There barely was a patch of skin that wasn't either blue, purple or red with blood. A few very spot had appeared where her ribs were cracked underneath the skin and Oïn's frown did nothing to ease his worry.

"How do I look?" came her muffled voice.

"Like a bad painting"

Kili wished her face wasn't turned away from him and hidden by her hair to see the half irritated/half surprised look she probably had right now and that he had found himself to love.

"Don't worry, it looks worse than it actually is" Oïn reassured her.

"Mahal, Oïn, that's the most displaced thing you could possibly say about a girl!" the young dwarf exclaimed.

Clearly, he was taking advantage of the fact that for once, Luna was in no position to make him regret his words. He doubted that in her state and with no shirt on she would stand up and beat him up. Plus, he wanted to make her laugh at least a little bit, it had been a long time since he had heard her laughing.

"From all the dwarves in this company, why do I have to be stuck with the most immature?" the young girl sighted in despair.

"Will you two keep quiet for a moment? I can't properly heal you if you keep talking or moving"

Luna buried her face in her hands while Kili's lips were stretching in a sheepish smile.

The healer rubbed an ointment on some of the bruises and cuts on her back then, with the young dwarf's help, put a bandage around the girl's torso. She let out a little moan of pain as he tightened it around her as much as he could without causing any more damage.

"Sorry lass, but your ribs have to stay as still as possible for a couple of days, they will only stay in place with this…"

She vaguely waved him off to signal him it was alright but kept her face hidden with her hair.

"Alright, that should do it. Can you sit now?"

Kili averted his eyes as she slowly turned around and raised herself into a sitting position, realising that the bandage was indeed keeping her ribs from moving too much and that she barely felt the pain from them anymore.

Fortunately, her bandage was covering her chest but she still took her shirt and kept it against her torso when Kili turned his eyes towards her again.

While Oïn was taking care of the wound on her throat, she realised that the shirt she was holding against her was torn and covered with dry blood, she wasn't going to put it back on. She flashed her eyes to the young dwarf who wasn't doing anything anymore and didn't seem to be needed right now and sent him to fetch her spare shirt from her bag that she had left behind at the camp.

As soon as he came back to the rest of the group, all eyes fell on Kili and a few dwarves stepped towards him, giving him questioning and worried glances.

"How's the lass?" Bofur asked.

"Is it grave?" Ori piped in.

The young prince even saw worry in his uncle's eyes and realised how much everyone loved her in the company. Bilbo and Gandalf had turned towards him as well and were waiting for an answer.

"She is fine" he sighted. "Just a few broken hits and bad hits plus her throat…nothing that will take the recklessness out of her I fear"

Sights of relief were heard amongst the dwarves and smiles reappeared on their faces.

Kili went to where the young girl had left her bag and looked inside to find the spare shirt. He deliberately ignored his brother's wide grin that had popped up on his face as soon as he had heard that the young girl would be alright and quickly walked away from the company again.

When he arrived back to where Luna and Oïn were, the healer had finished with the girl and was packing his stuff. There was a bandage around the girl's throat.

"Try to manage yourself for a few days…and for now, eat and then sleep. You've lost quite a lot of blood, you need to recover your strengths" he was instructing her.

"I'll be fine. Thanks Oïn"

The old dwarf mumbled something inaudible then left them and Luna and Kili found themselves alone.

He tossed her the shirt and she quickly put it on.

"What are you looking at?"

The young prince sighted and knelt down in front of her who was still sitting on the ground, her back against a tree.

"Congratulations on you officially becoming the captain" he said.

She looked surprised then waved the compliment off.

"I guess now it will be even harder for me to try and keep you from getting hurt in our place" he sighted, a frown on his face.

She raised an eyebrow at his sudden change of attitude, going from teasing to serious.

"Kili, it's…"

"It's your job, I know. And you are doing it brilliantly" he gave her a little smile that she returned.

Their eyes met and before they knew it, they were caught in one of those moments again, when the world around them suddenly faded away and that all that existed was them.  
Kili found himself unable to leave her big hypnotising eyes in which he could see the most beautiful night sky that he would ever look at, her dark blue pupils seemed to shine with the light of a thousand stars. On the other side, the girl was lost in his glance in which she could see both of them as children, playing around and teasing each other and that seemed to her to be a gulf full of all the happy memories she had.

Then, Luna's thoughts from earlier before she blacked out came back to her and she slowly bit her lip. She couldn't pretend that she didn't feel anything for him anymore but she couldn't allow herself to think that he would return those feelings or even worse, she couldn't allow herself to think that a relationship based on something more than friendship would ever be possible between them.

To her and Kili's greatest regret, she broke the contact, so suddenly that he slightly startled.

"We should head back to the camp" she said, avoiding his glance.

He looked for her eyes in vain then sighted and suddenly remembered something.

"Wait, I've got something for you" he exclaimed, looking for something in the inner pocket of his coat.

She gave him a questioning glance and he suddenly took out an old and damaged piece of parchment and handed it to her.

"I had not idea you still had this" he grinned.

She widened her eyes and took the letter that he had written himself and that she had received one day that seemed so long ago.

"Yes…I was reading it when the orcs attacked our house in the hidden valley…I just stuffed it into my pocket and forgot I had it until I woke up at your place and found it…how did you…?"

"I saw it on the ground when we were fighting the goblins and thought that maybe you would like to have it back"

"Thank you" she offered him her most sincere smile and he chuckled.

"Let's go back to the others"

He helped her up on her feet and as she was still a bit weak, held her by the arm to walk back to the camp where they were warmly greeted by the company who were happy to see that the young girl was alright.

"For a moment, you really scared us" Ori said.

"Yes, I thought we were going to lose our captain" Gloïn nodded.

They sat around the fire and ate the stew Bombur had prepared. Kili didn't leave Luna's side and when he looked up at some point, he met Thorin's glance above the fire. It only lasted a second but a bad feeling suddenly caught the dwarf. There had been something in his uncle's eyes…it wasn't the worry he had read earlier, or at least it wasn't a worry directed at the same thing. The dwarf's eyes had merely flashed from him to the girl sitting next to him, for such a brief instant that he even wondered if he hadn't imagined it. There was something in that glance that Kili had never seen before, something that seemed to be silently judging the bond between him and the girl.

He finished his meal in silence and soon, the dwarves headed towards their bedrolls to take a well-deserved sleep. Both Fili and Kili helped Luna up and walked with her towards the place where they had left their bags.

The young girl was so exhausted that she fell asleep as soon as she pulled her blanket over her and when he was certain she was in a deep sleep, Fili turned towards his brother.

"So, what happened?" he whispered with a grin.

"What do you mean?" Kili answered in a tired voice, ready for sleep.

"Don't try to fool me. Oïn came back to the camp before you two, saying you were following but you didn't turn up for a good ten minutes. Plus you had gone before that with a shirt to give her, as if it didn't look suspicious enough already"

"Please, stop it" the young dwarf desperately sighted.

"Alright, alright, I'm teasing you…but you must admit that it looked quite suspect. Also she was blushing when you came back, any stranger to the company who would have seen the pair of you at that moment wouldn't have wondered for long what you had been doing away from the others"

"Fili! How can you even imply…"

"I'm not implying it Kili, I know you would never do anything of that sort…at least not now…"

"Hey!"

"…but that's what it could have looked like. Even Thorin looked like he had thought of it"

The words Kili had been about to say didn't pass his lips as the memory of his uncle's glance came back to his mind. He shook his head and gave a determined look to his brother.

"Nothing happened between Luna and me, and nothing ever will"

"You don't know that"

"Yes I do, it's impossible. It just won't happen, that's all. Now let me sleep"

He turned around to face the other way and turn his back to his brother. A little silence passed then Fili's voice came again, so low he barely heard it.

"You love her, don't you?"

There was no joking, no teasing, not even the hint of a smile in his voice. In this moment, he was the protective big brother who always spoke up for him, cared for him and knew what he was thinking and how he felt at anytime. He was the brother in whose arms he had found a refuge to cry when their father had died, when Luna had left with her family for the hidden valley, when the other dwarves had mocked him for his lack of beard,…He was the brother who shared his fears and hopes, his successes and failures, his misery and happiness.

Kili let out a deep sight.

"Yes"


	16. The skin changer

_**Almost 100 followers, I can't believe it! I did not expect at all that so many people would like this story so quickly, I'm very happy, thank you all guys! **_  
_**Frozenangel1988 and heroherondaletotheresuce, I can't believe you read it all in one sitting, that's amazing! Thank you for your support, I'm so glad that you are enjoying it so much! **_

_**I would also like to say a big thanks to SwirlingEpiphany for your correction! As I said at the beginning, I am not a native English speaker but decided to write this fan fiction in English because first of all I love this language and secondly, I want to improve myself with it, so it's kind of a challenge to me. I am really trying my best to use a vocabulary as diversified as possible and to limit the grammar mistakes in the text but obviously it can't be perfect so thank you for giving me this correction, I will remember it from now on :)**_

_**As ever, let me know what you think and if you ever find any grammar mistake that regularly comes back, please let me know :) Enjoy this chapter!**_

* * *

**Chapter XV : The skin changer**

The following days, Bilbo was often sent to scout for any sign of the orcs while the company had started to move on again, carefully advancing under the cover of the trees.

Luna really wished she could go with the hobbit. Since that night after the fight with Azog when she had found herself alone with Kili for a few moments, something strange had settled between the two of them, something unfamiliar and a bit awkward that she couldn't put a word on.  
They were still teasing each other, chuckling at the same things and talking whenever they wanted yet it didn't feel as natural and innocent as before and while the young girl was doing her best to avoid meeting his eyes, he seemed to be doing everything to meet her glance.  
In addition to that awkward tension, some of the dwarves were often grinning at them or even teasingly winking whenever they were together which never failed to have them both blush and part from each other.

Thankfully, some of the others didn't even seem to notice anything, or if they did they pretended not to see it but what worried most the young girl was Thorin.  
When she had woken up the morning after that odd night, most of the others had still been asleep and the first thing she had seen were his eyes that had quickly turned away as soon as she had caught them staring in her direction.  
She hadn't really paid attention to this until she had turned around and almost bumped into Kili who had been sleeping so close to her she had found herself mere inches from his face. Although that would have made her laugh under normal circumstances, she had frowned and almost hurriedly stood up, understanding that Thorin had not been looking at her precisely but at _them_. She hadn't had the time to read in his eyes what he had been thinking about this but had found it wiser not to ask….

From that moment, she had decided to act as normal as she could to erase any doubt about her relationship with the young prince in the dwarves' minds, if any doubts there were. And it that meant acting more distant with him…well then, be it. By no means she could let her focus slip away from the quest.

* * *

They had been walking for almost a week now and had come to an halt to wait for Bilbo who had gone scouting ahead after they had heard the howls of the wargs.  
Luna had taken good care to stand as far as possible from Kili as she could while they were waiting and avoided the young dwarf's interrogating glance until the hobbit hurriedly came back, out of breath and worry clear on his face.

"How close is the pack?" Dwalin muttered, axe in hand.

"Too close, a couple of leagues, no more…but that's not the worst of it"

"Have the wargs picked up our scent?"

"Did they see you?"

"No…that's not it…" the hobbit was obviously having a hard time trying to catch his breath but the others didn't seem to notice. Gandalf proudly smiled and turned to the others.

"What did I tell you? Quiet as a mouse, excellent burglar material!" he exclaimed.

The dwarves nodded and started chatting to each other. The hobbit's face turned to irritation and he raised his voice.

"Will you…will you just listen?!" he suddenly exclaimed and they all grew quiet again. "I am trying to tell you that there is something else out there"

There was a pause during which some of the dwarves exchanged worried looks. Gandalf took a step forward.

"What shape did it take? Like a bear?" he asked in a lower tone.

"Yes…but bigger, much bigger" the hobbit frowned at him and Luna copied his action. Was there something the wizard had omitted to tell them?

"I say we double back" Bofur said, getting some of the others' approval nods.

"And be run down by a pack of orcs?" Thorin shook his head.

"There is a house not far from here" Gandalf broke the dwarves' chattering.

Only then did Luna remember the discussion she had had with the wizard and lord Elrond in Rivendell weeks ago. He had spoken then of a mysterious person who might be able to help them reach Mirkwood safe and sound but she didn't know why, she had the strange feeling that the wizard hadn't quite thought this through at the time and had first focused on crossing the mountains.

"Whose house? Is he a friend or foe?" Thorin asked.

"He is neither. He will either welcome us, or he will kill us"

The young girl rolled her eyes. The wizard really did have some strange ideas sometimes.

"What choice do we have?"

"None" he replied, "Come on"

The company arrived at the edge of the forest in which they had been walking, taking advantage of the trees to hide them from their enemies' view. In front of them lied a big plain and a bit further stood a single solitary house.

They nervously looked around them to check for any sign of the orcs then the wizard nodded and they raced out of the woods into the plain.

They hadn't even ran ten meters when a loud, terrifying roar was heard behind them. They kept on running, eyes focused on their destination that was getting closer. They felt the ground shake before even hearing the sound of heavy footsteps chasing them and Luna's blood froze in her veins when she shot a quick look behind her shoulder and saw a massive bear bursting out of the forest.

Bombur had seen it too and the young girl watched him in awe sprinting faster than she had ever seen anyone do and outrun the whole company.

"Open the doors!" Gandalf yelled above the bear's roars when the first dwarves reached the house.

The door swung open when they threw themselves against it.

"Quickly!"

The dwarves entered one by one and as soon as the last one had entered, the dwarves pushed themselves against the doors to close them while the gigantic head of the bear had managed to worm its way through.

Luna saw Bilbo raising his elvish dagger but was herself too bewildered to move and finally, after a huge effort, they managed to close the doors and locked themselves in.

There was short silence during which the dwarves tried to catch their breaths.

"Gandalf…what was that?" the young girl sighed. She had been expecting the orcs to be after them…not a huge bear.

"That is our host"

She almost dropped her jaw in surprise and from the looks she caught on the others' faces, she wasn't the only one to be dazzled.

"His name is Beorn, he is a skin changer. Sometimes he's a huge black bear, sometimes he is a great strong man. The bear is unpredictable but the man can be reasoned with. However…he is not overly fond of dwarves"

She shot the wizard an exasperated look. If that was his idea of keeping the company safe, she would need to have a talk with him. He just shrugged his shoulders however and turned his heels.

"We will be safe here tonight…I hope"

* * *

The dwarves had settled for the night here and there in the house where everything was way too big for them. Luna had looked around for a place to lie down then ended up choosing the straw like most of the others, knowing that she wouldn't get much sleep anyway. The pain in her ribs had awoken because of their run, her bandage had grown loose and she had to retighten it. Plus, she had deliberately chosen a spot away from where Fili and especially Kili were and she knew that sleeping without their comforting presence next to her meant having nightmares.

She waited until she was more or less sure that they were all sleeping to stand and walk out of the house into a little garden to remake her bandage.

It would probably have been wiser to wake Oïn up but she didn't want to look like she was hurt. She had to be strong and unbreakable like a captain worth of his title ought to be.

The task of tying the bandage back around her chest wasn't as easy as it had seemed though, she had to reach out behind her back and the movement was causing her pain to grow stronger. She cursed beneath her breath when her fourth or fifth attempt failed.

"Let me help"

She startled so violently that she let out a little moan of pain and, although her chest was covered anyway by the bandage and her shirt that she had left hanging around her neck, she crossed her arms in front of her when she saw Kili looking at her.

He was frowning, looking at her in an intense way and she didn't say anything as she turned her back to him and he stepped forward to wrap the bandage tighter around her thorax.

"Do they hurt again?"

"No" she lied, a bit too quickly for him to believe her. "It just got a bit loose while we were running, that's all"

He finished in silence and she quickly put her shirt back on before turning towards him.

"Thanks" she said, looking down at her feet to avoid his glance then walked past him to head back inside but he caught her wrist and she stiffened at his touch.

"Luna…"

She didn't move, didn't even turn around to face him and he sighed.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"I don't know what you are talking about"

"Have I done something that annoyed you? I mean…more than usual?"

It was her time to sigh and he freed her arm as she finally turned to look at him.

"No Kili…you have done nothing"

"Well then I don't understand…you've been ignoring me for days…you act distant…what's wrong?"

She bit her lips and there was a little pause during which the dwarf looked expectantly at her.

"Luna…please, say something" he begged.

"It's nothing Kili, I swear. I…I was just a bit tired these past few days, that's all"

"You are not a good liar, you know…You have always been able to tell me everything, why does that have to change now?"

She did not answer and at her surprise, a little smile stretched on his lips. He stepped closer and before she was able to make a move, he took her hands in his.

"You are afraid" he whispered.

"Afraid?"

"And I know of what…it scares me too"

"Kili…" she muttered, fearing where he might be going with this.

Luna only realised how close they had been standing to each other when he closed that distance to press his lips on hers for a quick, gentle kiss, full of hopes and fears.

It had been so brief that she wondered for a moment if she had not imagined it…but the sensation it left on her skin was way too strong to leave place for any doubt in her mind. Hoping that the darkness of the night was hiding her blushing cheeks, she looked up at him and melted into his eyes.

Before any of them even realised they were doing it, they reached for each other. Kili's arm went around the girl's waist, pulling her closer, while his free hand ran through her hair. Luna clung onto his shirt, bringing him towards her then her hands trailed towards his shoulders and their lips met again.

If they both tried to be slow and gentle at the beginning, they quickly gave up as their kiss grew more and more passionate. The young girl was standing on the tip of her toes and a fire was running through her veins and Kili…Kili had never felt so much alive.  
A low groan came from the back of his throat as she was putting her arms around his neck. His fingers got caught up in her hair then his hand came to cup her face. She tasted of honey and wild berries and something else he couldn't quite put a word on but if warm summer nights had a taste, that would probably be it.

Then, all of a sudden, Luna seemed to come back to consciousness and realise what they were doing.

"Mmh…Kili, no!" she exclaimed, forcing herself to step back and leave his embrace.

They looked at each other in silence for a little moment, the only sound that was heard was their precipitate breathing that they were both trying to catch.

Kili was startled and realised as well what they had been doing. All of a sudden, the warmth of her body against his and the sweet taste of her lips were so brutally taken away from him that it hurt and it felt like he had been slapped back to reality.

"I…I'm sorry…" he muttered, still gasping for air.

"We shouldn't…we…we can't" she whispered and he firmly nodded.

They locked eyes again for a few seconds then Luna turned her heels and walked back inside. Kili brushed his hair away from his face and cursed himself, the sensation of her lips still clear on his. He mentally slapped himself and angrily kicked away a little rock at his feet. What in Durin's name had he just done? Luna was his friend, for Mahal's sake! His captain! Her friendship was one of the most valuable thing to his eyes and he couldn't lose it by allowing himself to get carried away by his little pathetic feelings!

* * *

Luna almost ran back inside and let herself drop on the straw between the sleeping forms of Bofur and Bifur. She bit hard on her lip to not let the tears that were building up in her eyes stream down on her face.  
Kissing Kili had been the most wonderful thing she had ever done…and parting from him was one of the most painful but she had had to do it. He wasn't in love with her, he couldn't be, that was impossible. She had somehow tricked him into thinking that he fancied her and it had to stop there. They weren't meant to be together, a fool could see it.

Tonight, she had been weak. Having him so close too her…she hadn't been able to stop herself and had let herself fall into his embrace as soon as she had had a chance but that wouldn't happen again. Ever, ever again.

Looking up, she met Bifur's worried glance. The dwarf had not been sleeping and was concerned of what he was seeing. There may be a few things that he couldn't always understand anymore since the accident that had embedded an axe in his skull but Luna's distress was plain enough to him. He shot her a questioning look but she just shrugged her shoulders and turned her eyes away again.

The old warrior reached for her hand and warmly squeezed it to try and comfort her. She offered him a little forced smile that he suddenly saw disappear when Kili came back inside as well.  
Bifur caught the young dwarf glancing in their direction before walking off towards the spot where his brother was sleeping. He did not look any better than the girl.

The warrior shook his head and couldn't keep his lips from stretching into a little smile.

"_Love…_", he sighed in Khûzdul before turning around and going to back to sleep.

* * *

"So you are the one they call Oakenshield" Beorn said, pouring milk into Fili's enormous mug.

Their host had come back during the night, fortunately in his human form. He was indeed a big, tall man that looked almost as impressive as the bear. The dwarves had woken up to find him preparing breakfast for them and he had invited them to sit down as his big table.

"Tell me…why is Azog the Defiler hunting you?"

He turned to Thorin who looked up in surprise.

"You know of Azog? How?"

"My people were the first to live in the mountains, before the orcs came down from the North. The Defiler killed most of my family but some he enslaved. Not for work, you understand, but for sport. Caging skin changers and torturing them seemed to amuse him"

The dwarves looked at him, silently weighing his words.

"There are others like you?" Bilbo innocently asked.

"Once there were many"

"And now?"

"Now…there's only one"

The dwarves looked down at their plates, sad and uneasy at the same time but Beorn did not seem to notice it and his eyes trailed on the company for a little moment then he frowned.

"I heard the captain of Erebor was marching besides his king once again to reclaim the mountain" he said. "But I do not see Laïn amongst you. Tell me where he is, for he is a well known acquaintance of mine"

They looked at each other in surprise then all eyes fell on Luna who raised her head for the first time of the day.

"He is dead" she said, in a voice that she tried to keep neutral but that couldn't dissimulate a hint of sadness.

Their host stopped what he was doing and looked gravely at her.

"Dead?" he repeated after a short pause. "How is that so?"

"He was killed by orcs, sent by Azog" the young girl explained.

Anger flashed in the skin changer's eyes at the mention of the name.

"This greatly grieves me. I do not have many friends, but Laïn was one of them. Who are you?"

"I am Luna…his daughter"

"She is the captain now" Ori said and the dwarves gave determined approval nods.

Beorn looked surprised and he seemed to detail her face for a few seconds.

"I thought that only the previous captain's first heir could become captain in his turn. Laïn had two sons before his daughter"

"They were killed as well. I am the last one"

She exchanged a glance with him until he slightly bowed his head. "May they watch over you from Mahal's halls then" he said to their surprise and she awkwardly nodded.

"You need to reach the mountain before the last days of autumn" he turned towards Gandalf.

"Before Durin's day falls, yes" the wizard confirmed.

"You are running out of time"

"This is why we must go through Mirkwood"

"A darkness lies upon that forest. Foul things creep beneath those trees. There is an alliance between the orcs of Moria and the Necromancer in Dol Guldur. I would not venture there except in great need"

Luna raised an eyebrow and stared at Gandalf. She had thought at some point that reaching that forest would bring them to a bit more of safety and give them more chances of reaching Erebor before the orcs ran them down but the more she heard about Mirkwood, the more she was starting to think it might not be that much of a relief to reach it.

"We will take the elven road" the wizard assured. "That path is still safe"

"Safe? The wood elves of Mirkwood are not like their kin. They're less wise and more dangerous" His eyes landed on Thorin. "But it matters not"

"What do you mean?" the dwarf asked in a whisper, snapping his head towards him.

"These lands are crawling with orcs. Their numbers are growing and you are on foot. You will never reach the forest alive"

All of a sudden, reaching Mirkwood sounded like a relief again. Luna bit her lip ; their host wasn't wrong…it was a miracle that had not seen the orcs again since their fight out of the Goblin Town but it was just a matter of time. By no means would Azog let them go any further without trying his best to stop them.

She looked up at Beorn when he suddenly stood up and they all felt very small.

"I don't usually like dwarves" he growled. "They're greedy, and blind to the lives of those they deem lesser than their own"

He picked up a white mouse that had climbed on Bofur's arm and they all held their breaths, afraid that he was going to crush it in his fist.

"But orcs I hate more" he ended, breaking the tension that had built up in the room. "What do you need?"

* * *

Thorin announced that they wouldn't linger at Beorn's too long, no time could be wasted if they wanted to reach Erebor before Durin's day so straight after breakfast, the company packed their things to be on the move by midday.

Their host had agreed to let them borrow his ponies until they reached Mirkwood and Luna was tying her bag to her monture's saddle when Fili suddenly appeared behind her, causing her to startle.

"You scared me" she reprimanded him.

She frowned when she saw that the dwarf's usual smily face had turned into one of concern as he looked at her.

"What's going on?" he asked in a low voice so that no one would hear them.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean with Kili and you"

She turned her eyes away and pretended to be busy tying things up to her saddle.

"I don't know what you're talking about"

She made a move to walk past him but he put a hand on her shoulder to prevent her from leaving.

"Don't take me for a fool. Something happened between Kili and you last night. There might have already been a bit of tension between the two of you for the past few days but since this morning, something is definitely wrong"

"Please let me go"

"No"

He sighed and forced her to look in his eyes.

"Kili won't tell me a word, he pretends everything is fine but I have rarely seen him like that. He barely ate this morning, he doesn't smile, doesn't seem interested in anything while he is usually the first to be amazed by the smallest of things,…he is my brother, I know when something is wrong with him"

"Maybe he just had a very bad sleep, why do you suppose that I have anything to do with it?"

"Because I know you almost as well as I know him and you are acting just the same"

She shook her head and blinked several times to repress the tears that were welling up in her eyes.

"Luna…"

He sighed then pulled her into a big warm hug such as only a big brother can do.

"You remember what I told you long ago, when you were living with us as a child?" he whispered. "That day when you had been hiding so no one would see you cry for your father and brothers who had gone off to battle and that I found you?"

She nodded against his neck, a single tear rolling down on her cheek. "You said that you would always be a brother to me if I wanted to"

"And that has not changed. I know no one will ever replace Lunkin or Logan, but I will always love you like a brother loves his little sister"

She parted from him to give him a little smile and he rubbed his thumb on her cheek to chase the tear away.

"To me you will always be my sister, just like Kili is my brother, and it kills me to see one of you, or worse, both of you, unhappy. Won't you tell me what happened?"

She shrugged her shoulders.

"Let's just say that…we might have let ourselves get a bit carried away last night…but it won't happen again"

The dwarf's eyes widened then he bit his lip and just squeezed her shoulder.

"You know, I believe that some things are just meant to happen sometimes and we should not try to fight against them"

He winked at her but she shook her head so he just shrugged his shoulders and went off to put his own things on his pony.

She shot a quick glance at Kili who was standing by his ride a bit further, only to catch him looking at her as well. They both immediately turned their eyes away and Luna let out a deep sigh. They still had a long road before they reached the mountain and it didn't look like it was going to be easy at all.


	17. The darkness of the forest

**Chapter XVI : The darkness of the forest **

The trip to Mirkwood was surprisingly short and easy. Luna had kept looking everywhere around her on the road, expecting the orcs to be anywhere but they encountered no trouble at all and in less than three days, they reached the first lines of trees of the Black Forest.

She dismounted and narrowed her eyes as if trying to discern what might be hidden in the darkness between the trees. She hadn't even stepped in it yet but she knew already that she didn't like that forest at all.

"This forest feels sick" came Bilbo's voice a bit further. "As if a disease lies upon it. Is there no way round?" he asked Gandalf.

"Not unless we go two hundred miles North or twice that distance South" the wizard answered but he too had a worried look on his face as he was staring at the forest.

The young girl bit her lip, thinking that she had once been looking forward to reach Mirkwood, hoping to find a refugee from the orcs here…that sounded like the silliest thing ever right now. If it had only been up to her, there was no way she would have even stayed there any longer.

She looked behind her at the plain that they had now crossed and suddenly caught a glimpse of the shape of a great bear on a hill further away and narrowed her eyes. So that's why there hadn't been any sign of the orcs…

"Set the horses loose, let them return to their master" Gandalf ordered, seeing the bear as well and while the dwarves were starting to get ready to continue on foot, he walked off towards an old statue that stood at the entrance of the forest.

"I don't know if this is my dwarfish natural aversion for forests speaking but I don't like that plan" Fili muttered, stepping next to Luna who slowly nodded. Kili was next to him as usual but they didn't even look at each other.

They hadn't spoken a word to the other for the past three days and although it hurt her, the young girl was decided to not let anything show.

"No…I don't like it either" Bilbo answered.

Dwalin had been about to set Gandalf's horse loose as well when the wizard suddenly hurried back towards the group.

"No, not my horse! I need it!" he exclaimed.

Bilbo and Luna both snapped their heads towards him.

"You're leaving us?!" the hobbit pleaded.

"I would not do this unless I had to"

"Gandalf!" Luna exclaimed, stepping towards him.

He put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"You will keep them safe"

"But…"

He turned to Bilbo and they exchanged a few words in low voices then the wizard walked towards his horse, giving them instructions and taking just a short pause in front of Thorin to mutter in a severe voice "Do not enter that mountain without me" and then he looked at the company.

"You must stay on the path, do not leave it. If you do, you'll never find it again" he said before turning his horse around and leaving them there, still bewildered by his hasty departure.

"Come on" Thorin pressed them, turning towards the entrance of the forest. "We much reach the mountain before the sun sets on Durin's day. It's our one chance to find the hidden door!"

And they all followed him as he stepped under the trees.

* * *

Darkness quickly crept all around them because of the trees that had become enormous and loomed over them with their many branches keeping the light of the sun from reaching the ground.

Their progress was slow. They had to walk in a line to follow the path that was covered with so many dead leaves that the dwarf at the front constantly had to brush them away with his foot to make sure they were still on it.

They constantly felt as if they were being watched by unfriendly eyes and all of them kept shooting worried glances around them, their hands never really leaving their weapons just in case.

But worst of all, there was something sickening in this forest. The atmosphere was heavy and it didn't take long for them all to feel exhausted and dizzy. They quickly lost any notion of time and space : they didn't remember how long they had been walking under the trees nor what time it was and everything looked terribly alike.

"Air…I need air!" someone exclaimed at some point but Luna wasn't even sure whose voice that was.

The hours turned into days…or at least they thought so, it was so hard to tell the day from the night that they only stopped to rest when they were too tired to go on. Sometimes they didn't even take the time to take their blankets out of their bags and just fell asleep where they had stopped, hoping a good rest would make them feel better but it never did. At most, it only brought them enough strength to keep going.

What was meant to happened finally happened when Nori at the front suddenly stopped at some point and stared in front of him in horror.

"Nori? Why have we stopped?" Thorin asked.

"The path" the dwarf muttered, pointing in front of him. "It's disappeared!"

Indeed, the ground was disappearing into a cliff a few meters away and the path with it.

"What's going on?"

"The path, we lost the path!"

"Find it!" Thorin barked. "All of you, look! Look for the path!"

As the dwarves starting helplessly looking for it, the air seemed to grow even thicker and the darkness grew around them.

"I don't remember any of this…none of it is familiar!" Balin's voice seemed to echo in their ears.

The voices of the dwarves sounded more and more vague and distant, echoing in Luna's head until they turned into a big blur that provoked nothing but a big headache.

She mentally slapped herself and looked around her only to realise in horror that the dwarves were starting to venture further and further away from each other in their search for the path.

"We must stay together…" she muttered and looked for Thorin who was standing on a rock a bit further.

"Thorin! We must stay together, call them back!" she cried out to him, pointing at the dwarves who were slowly walking away.

The dwarf's eyes flashed to them and he seemed to come back to a bit more sense. He called the company back.

"We'll camp here now…I don't know whether it's night or day in this accursed place but I have had enough for now" he declared and the others strongly approved his words.

Luna sat with her back against a rock. A tree would have been more comfortable but she did not trust them in this place. It was uncommon for a dwarf to think of a tree as a potential enemy as if it was a person but in this place, everything looked way too doomed to take any unnecessary risks. If there was a time to believe the elvish tales, now was a better one than any.

She caught the apple Bombur tossed her and ate it slowly, afraid that she might be sick if she ate too much here. She hadn't imagined Gandalf's aversion for this place would turn out to be so true. She had no idea of how long they had been walking under the trees but it already felt like an eternity. She even feared for a moment that Durin's day might pass without them realising it lost in the forest.  
No, she couldn't think like that. She had to keep her spirits up, to keep the dwarves safe. They were going to find that path, and if not, this forest wasn't infinite, they would end up reaching its edge at some point.

She woke up feeling worst than she had before falling asleep and the company started walking again in a line, following Thorin in silence although they had the impression that this place was all but silent.

"I hate this place" Ori mumbled in front of her as if he was speaking to someone walking besides him but there was no one.

Their minds were playing tricks on them, making them see and feel things that weren't real. When Bilbo looked down at his feet, he almost let out a small cry when he saw himself walking backwards. Shaking his head to clear his mind, he focused on the dwarf walking in front of him then turned around to check on Dori behind him and met his own eyes that gave him a questioning look so he decided it was wiser to keep walking forward and not look around him too much.

_Luna…_

The young girl shook her head to clear her thoughts. She could hear the occasional grunts and words of the dwarves echoing in her head and a low buzzing sound.

_Luna._

"What?"

She looked around her, this time she was sure someone had called her name but there was no one.

_Luna! _

She caught glimpse of a movement between two bushes a bit further away then a silhouette stepped out from behind low branches and her father looked gravely at her.

_Luna, what are you doing? _

"Fa…father…?" she mumbled in shock. "You are…alive?"

The silhouette shook his head.

_No. You must go back to the company. _

"But I am with them…"

_No you are not, you just lost them._

Her eyes left the silhouette of her father for a brief moment to wander around her and she realised that indeed, she was on her own, there was no sign of the company.

_Go back to them. You are their captain and they need you._

"And I you" she mumbled, not even realising that tears were building up in her eyes. "I don't want to be the captain, I don't want to go to Erebor, I want to be with you" she pleaded in a little voice.

_You will, in your time. But in the meanwhile, you must do this. Go. _

"I…"

"Luna! Luna!" came a voice behind her.

A hand landed on her shoulder and made her jump around to find Bilbo watching her with a concern look in his eyes.

"Are you alright? Where did you go?"

She shot a quick look behind her shoulder to the place where she had seen her father a few seconds ago but he wasn't there anymore.

"What happened?" she asked.

"You were walking at the back of the group then suddenly I turned around and you weren't there anymore, you must have walked away without realising it" Bilbo said. "What did you see?"

"Nothing…it was just an illusion…let's go back to the others"

He looked suspicious but nodded and they hurried back after the company that hadn't even noticed their brief absence.

"Who were you talking to?" the hobbit asked in a timid voice.

She shot him a quick glance, she hadn't thought he had heard her speaking to the illusion of her father.

"It's…I saw my father" she muttered in a low voice to avoid being heard by the others although that was very unlikely.

Bilbo frowned.

"You…you said you did not want to be the captain…is that true?"

"It is my duty to be the captain, and Thorin seems to want me for this so then be it" she declared in a neutral voice.

"But…"

"It is my duty to the dwarves of Erebor, my duty to my king, to my line…my duty to my father"

"Yes but duty apart…I mean…if you could choose for yourself, and only for yourself to be the captain…would you?"

She looked up at in front of her at the line of dwarves and let out a deep sigh.

"No"

He shot her a questioning look and she shrugged her shoulder.

"What you are basically asking me is what life would I want if I were able to choose and moreover, to choose only regarding what I would like. In that case I wouldn't choose a life as the captain of Erebor. I am not made for this, I never was. My father and brothers were, they should have been the ones following Thorin"

"But…I don't understand…you act like a captain, you're even doing a fantastic job as far as I know…"

"Because it's only the beginning but if we do reclaim the mountain and Thorin sits on his throne, then the guard will be reformed and I will stand at the king's side until the day I die, constantly looking around for any sign of an enemy or trying to figure out any danger…I know it doesn't sound that bad, it's a highly respected title, you might even think that I am being childish and capricious but…"

She sighed again.

"It's not the kind of life I am made for…There are still countless things that I don't know but that one, I have no doubt about it. A life in a shining armour, standing until death under a mountain in the shadow of a king with six guards around me…that's not what I want"

She had never told this to any one so openly, not even to Lunkin when he was alive. Of course, he had doubted over the years that she did not want to ever become the captain but she had never really openly said so, and at the time it didn't matter anyway : he was alive so he was going to replace their father when the time would have come.  
The evil atmosphere of the place was probably allowing her to speak her mind more frantically but still, she realised how much her trust in the hobbit had grown.

"What do you want?" he asked.

"To be free. All my life I lived hidden in the blue mountains, barely allowed to leave my house, training everyday to become what I might never have had to be if the orcs hadn't found us. I…I loved my family, don't misunderstand me, I loved them and always will but I often found myself looking out my window at the wide spaces that stretched outside the valley, behind the blue mountains, and wishing for nothing more than to go and travel the world. Yes, that's what I want. A life where I could do whatever I want, go wherever I feel like, meet new people, discover new things,…without rules, responsibilities, kingdom to reclaim from a dragon or a mountain to hide within."

A little smile had stretched on her lips while she was talking and her eyes were shining then she shook her head and her smile disappeared.

"No mountain?" he repeated, raising an eyebrow, "Aren't dwarves supposed to be very fond of living in mountains?"

"Yeah…Can I tell you a secret?"

He nodded.

"You will probably think that this is the silliest thing ever but…I am claustrophobic. I hate confined spaces and not being able to see the sky above me…I know, it's ridiculous, right? There are so many much more frightening things to be scared of…and yet here I am, a dwarf supposed to be the captain of Erebor, uncomfortable inside a mountain"

Bilbo couldn't help giggling and feared for an instant that it would be rude but she smiled and shrugged her shoulders.

"It does sound a bit odd…I didn't know that" he said.

"Not many people know…actually, besides my family, Fili and Kili's mother is the only one who has ever known I think. I wonder is she still remembers it. And I try not to show it, thankfully, I still have quite a good control over my fear. Since the beginning of this journey, the only moment when I felt a bit worried was in Goblin Town, but then I had many other reasons to worry so it kind of turned my claustrophobia down a little bit"

The hobbit thoughtfully nodded, trying to imagine what it would be like for her to live in Erebor if they retook it.

"Why do you not think that you are a good captain?" he asked after a short pause, coming back to their original subject.

"From my father's three children, I was always the worst when it came to train me for the job, no matter the subject. Also the most turbulent, reckless and hotheaded…not really the qualities you would want in a captain. Plus I know myself…even in this quest, there are sometimes things that Thorin says or does that I can't approve of and I can't help it but I always have the urge to let him know and confront him on them. What will it be like when he will be sitting on his throne, ruling Erebor and that I will be there, witnessing his every move? There are punishments for captains who either fail or confront in any way the king they are sworn to protect"

"What…kind of punishments?"

"It depends of the gravity of the fault. The least you can get is to be put in a dungeon…then if I remember well, there is exile and finally, death"

"Exile? Death?!" the hobbit repeated in shock. "Isn't that a bit…excessive?"

"Our duty is to care for his security. The king must be able to trust his captain with his life and to rely on him for anything. If we start questioning him or speaking against him…that bond is forever broken. And personally, I would much rather be exiled or killed than left to rot in the deep underground dungeons of Erebor where the only person I will ever see again is the guard who will bring me old bread every morning. I have never seen the dungeons myself, actually rare are those who see them and come back to describe them but from what I have been told, if a captain is locked, he spends the rest of his days in the deepest parts of the mountain where no light shines and with the interdiction to see anyone again, even his family. He is to be forgotten and even his bones won't be brought back after he dies."

He swallowed nervously, not willing to ask if it had already happened before and she waved her hand as if to chase the conversation they had just had away.

"But those dreams of freedom are just the dreams of a foolish girl, I am the captain whether I want it or not and I will fulfil my obligations as best as I could. I am honoured to be entitled to this post"

She gave him a little smile and he returned it although he wasn't convinced. He had never really asked himself the question was it a good thing for the dwarves to retake Erebor, he had simply assumed the answer was yes, and it probably was for most of them but maybe not all of them…

They suddenly stopped walking when Ori picked up a gourd from the ground and Dori muttered something Luna didn't get from where she was.

"There's dwarves in these woods!" he exclaimed.

"Dwarves from the blue mountains no less" Bofur added, taking a look at the object. "This is exactly the same as mine"

"Because it is yours!" Biblo rolled his eyes. "You understand? We're going around in circles, we are lost!"

"We are not lost, we keep heading East" Thorin snapped.

"But which way is East?"

"We've lost the sun"

The dwarves' voices slowly got louder as the sickening atmosphere of the forest was playing on their nerves and before they even realised why, they were arguing between each other.

"The sun…" Bilbo muttered, looking up at the higher branches of the trees that were hiding the sky away. "We have to find the sun"

Luna looked at him with an eyebrow raised. She didn't have any energy left to argue with the others and watched as the hobbit seemed to be looking for an idea.

She let her eyes wander up the trunk of a massive tree and very high above them, saw a few patches of light that were piercing through the leaves.

She suddenly turned her eyes back on Bilbo and their glances met at the same time, with the same idea.

"Up there…" she muttered and he nodded.

"We need to get up there so we can…" he tried to raise his voice above all the others who were now almost fighting but it proved vain : no one was listening.

"Don't even bother" she rolled her eyes. "Do you think you could climb up there?"

He nodded. The tree had many large branches that were more than strong enough to carry the weight of a hobbit.

"Stay here and try to calm them down, I'll be back in a second" he said and she nodded as he started climbing up the tree with great agility.

She was about to turn to the others again when her eyes suddenly caught something moving behind a tree. Thorin behind her had seen it too and exchanged a concerned look with her.

"What was that?" she whispered and he slowly shook his head.

"Enough!" he yelled at the others. "Wait, all of you!"

The dwarves stopped their fighting and turned towards him in surprise. Luna unsheathed her twin blades, there was definitely something moving behind that tree, but not only…

"We are being watched" Thorin muttered.

As soon as he said that, a giant spider leaped from behind the tree towards Luna and although she had the reflex to raise her blades that embedded themselves in its belly, she was knocked down and fell on her back with the dead spider on top of her.

She heard her name being shouted then screeches came from everywhere around them. She extirpated herself from under the spider's body and her eyes widened when she saw that the company was being attacked by a dozen others, coming from every direction.

She joined the others who were trying to push them back but a bad feeling took hold of her : the dwarves, exhausted from their journey through the forest and on the edge of their nerves, were in no condition to fight.

Her glance landed on Fili and Kili fighting back to back a bit further and her eyes widened in horror when she saw the huge spider coming down on them from the top of a tree with its web. They hadn't seen it, too busy fighting back the ones around them on the ground and she watched the spider coming closer and closer to them, its sting aiming at Kili.

"No!" she shouted and without thinking of what she was doing, she raced forward and pushed the brothers away so violently that they fell to the ground, a fraction of second before the spider hit. She felt a burning pain spreading in her veins from her side where the spider had stung her and her body began to feel numb.

Her vision blurred and she briefly met Kili's terrified eyes before everything became dark.


	18. The Woodland Realm

_**Hi everyone, I'm sorry that I haven't updated in over a week while I usually try to post a new chapter every two or three days but I went on a holiday and didn't get the chance to write any more chapter...**_

**_Big thanks to those who favourited/followed this story and a very big thank you for the reviews, I am always so happy to read them!_**

**_I hope you will enjoy this chapter, I am afraid it is more of a filling chapter but don't worry, I have many ideas for this story and it should get more interesting very soon...Enjoy! _**

* * *

**Chapter XVII : The Woodland Realm**

Luna slowly woke up and it took her a little while to realise that she was unable to move. Something white and sticky was tightly wrapped all around her, making it impossible for her to even grab a dagger to free herself. She swallowed nervously and focused to keep a steady breathing. Now wasn't the time to have a panic attack.

She stopped struggling for a few seconds and closed her eyes to improve her focus and calm herself down. She could feel her heart beating so heard in her chest that she feared it might explode.

Around her, she could faintly hear strange noises and then the muffled cry of Bombur. She opened her eyes and saw the black shapes of the giant spiders that had attacked them and guessed that the rest of the company had been captured as well.

She could feel bile rising in her throat and sweat forming on her brow. She couldn't stand it, it was too much for her and as she was on the merge of passing out again, a loud screech suddenly made her heart skip a beat.

She gasped when another, smaller shape, stood above her and suddenly, she fell in the air. The webs that had been created over the time by the spiders were fortunately strong enough to cushion her fall and she didn't land too brutally on the ground where her bonds broke open.

She shakily unwrapped herself from the web and rolled on the ground where she curled up on her side for a few seconds, taking deep breaths and trying to control her shaking body. Peeping a look up in the trees, she saw the small form of Bilbo who was finishing cutting the dwarves free and one by one, they all fell around her and unwrapped themselves from the cocoons as well.

She startled when she felt a hand on her shoulder and saw Kili's worried face looking down at her.

"Luna?" he asked.

She opened her mouth to say that she was alright but loud screeches interrupted her. The spiders had come back and threw themselves at their escaping preys, not wanting to let their dinner go.

She pushed herself up on her feet, fighting back her nausea and avoided a spider that launched at them. Fortunately, Kili quickly killed it and Luna looked around her. They could not fight the spiders again, they had to go away as far as as they could.

"Run!" she yelled at the dwarves.

She met Thorin's eyes a bit further and he nodded.

"Come on!" he shouted and gestured for the dwarves to follow him.

They didn't go very far though : a huge spider suddenly landed in front of Thorin, blocking their way. The dwarf raised his sword but Luna stepped in front of him and shot a murderous glance at the spider.

She braced herself for an attack when a sound had them all snap their heads up and they saw, high in the trees, a silhouette jumping from branch to branch then launch into the air to grab a string of web and let himself slid down to the ground where he crashed the spider that had created it then slid on the dead leaves, killing everything standing in his way, including the spider facing the company and finally, he stood up and aimed an arrow to his bow straight at the dwarves.

Luna was too bewildered by this demonstration of astonishing agility to realise at once that a whole group of elves were circling the company, aiming arrows towards them. She mentally slapped herself and stared at the blonde elf who was still standing in front of her.

"Do not think I won't kill you, dwarf" he spat. "It would be my pleasure"

Thorin's hand landed on Luna's shoulder and slightly pushed her back behind him and he gave her a small nod so she would lower her blades.

That's when they heard a scream coming from further away and spinning around, Luna's eyes widened in horror when she saw that Kili wasn't with the company and that a spider had taken a hold of his leg and was pulling him away.

"Kili!" Fili's and her voice mixed up together and she tried to push past the elves but the blonde one in front of her grabbed her and with quick, precise moves, forced her down on her knees with her arms blocked behind her back.

"Let me go!"

"Try that again and you're dead" he threatened, his dagger against her throat.

In the meanwhile, another elf, this time a woman with long ginger hair, had arrived and managed to kill the spider holding Kili while pushing back others.

"Shove me a dagger!" the dwarf shouted while another spider was racing towards him. "Quick!"

"If you think I'm giving you a weapon dwarf, you're mistaken!" she exclaimed and threw a dagger at the spider that fell dead after one last agonising screech.

She then pushed Kili back towards the company and the dwarves started being searched.

Luna shot her darkest glance at the blonde elf who returned it then called for the she-elf.

"Tauriel. Search that one" he ordered.

The ginger elf looked at Luna in surprise and her surprise seemed to grow with every weapon she could find on the girl.

"Who are you?" she whispered.

"Why does it matter?" the girl snapped back.

Tauriel raised an eyebrow at her but didn't say anything more. She exchanged a few words in Elvish with the blonde elf then he was given Thorin's word and examined it for an instant. He spoke some more in Elvish then turned to the dwarf.

"Where did you get this?" he asked dryly.

"It was given to me"

The elf pointed the blade towards Thorin's throat.

"Not just a thief, but a liar as well" he said softly.

"I did not know Thranduil's son was so prompt to hasty, unreasoned judgements" Luna coldly said.

All eyes landed on her and more arrows were pointed at her while she locked eyes with the blonde elf.

"Do I know you?" he asked, raising an eyebrow and detailing her face.

His eyes narrowed when they landed on the moon-shaped scar on her face.

"Legolas, what is going on?" Tauriel asked.

"It looks like the dwarves of Erebor are on their way to the mountain again" he simply answered then he gave orders in elvish and the company was pushed along as the elves started making their way back to their kingdom.

"Thorin, where is Bilbo?" Bofur whispered before an elf pulled him along.

* * *

They walked in a silent line with the elves around them while they were being lead through the forest. Despite the fact that they had been captured, all the dwarves couldn't help but feel relieved as the air was growing lighter and the trees were slowly becoming smaller, allowing the light of the sun to shine on them.  
When they finally arrived in front of the huge doors of the Woodland Realm, the air was pure and all trace of hallucination had left their minds.

Luna found herself staring in awe at the scenery around her once they passed the doors. They were lead across many bridges and little flights of steps that seemed to be carved in the huge and deep roots of the biggest and oldest trees ever, sprouting from everywhere. This place was so big that rivers were even seen here and there, flowing underneath the bridges or falling down into little cascades. This place was magic, there was no other word to describe it.

They made their way to a little platform from which a flight of steps lead to a magnificent throne on which a tall elf was sitting. A crown made of branches and red leaves was placed on his head and he had a look of majesty and wisdom that could only come from countless years of existence.

He looked down at the company huddled together on the platform then stood up and slowly made his way down the steps to look at them all. His eyes stopped on Thorin.

"This is indeed unexpected…Thorin Oakenshield has trespassed into my kingdom" his voice was neutral but there was something powerful about it.

"Thranduil" Thorin softly said

Legolas spoke a few words in elvish and although he kept his indifferent expression, the king's eyes briefly flashed to Luna.

"Bring them to the cells" he ordered. "Except for these two" he pointed at Thorin and Luna then all the others were forced by guards to leave and despite all their protestations, they were lead out of sight towards the cells of Mirkwood.

Thranduil turned to the two dwarves who where still standing there, covered in dirt and spider web but both watching him with defiant eyes.

His glance passed on the young girl and like Legolas had done, he seemed to be detailing her features for a few seconds, his eyes briefly stopping on her scar.

"Not only is Thorin Oakenshield traveling to the lonely mountain, but a child of his captain is at his side. And if you are here, I doubt Laïn will be far. Where is he?" he said.

"He is dead" Thorin coldly answered. "You stand before the legitimate captain of Erebor"

The elf king's eyes slightly narrowed and Tauriel, who was still standing with Legolas a bit further widened her eyes in surprise.

"Is that so?" Thranduil whispered, more to himself than to the dwarves. "Thus Azog finally got what he had long wished for, the end of the captains"

"The line has not ended, not as long as Luna lives" Thorin growled.

"Indeed…But I believe it is just a matter of time now"

Thorin raised an eyebrow and the elf took a few steps towards them. Luna stood still while he looked her up and down. He was almost twice her height but she wasn't going to let herself be intimidated by him.

"Azog will hunt you and kill you" Thranduil whispered.

"Let him come" she answered in the same low tone. "I don't fear him"

"You should"

"If Azog is to kill me then be it…but I will do everything in my power to bring him to the grave with me" she gritted between her teeth. "Contrarily to you, I don't run away from fights"

If Thranduil was offended, he let nothing appear.

"I am accustomed to the recklessness and insolence of your line for I have known many captains. None were as young as you are though, is Thorin Oakenshield that desperate that he relies on a little girl to protect him?"

He barely had time to finish his sentence before Luna grabbed a little dagger hidden under her clothes and that the elves hadn't found when they had searched them in the forest. She pointed it towards Thranduil who, for once, seemed surprised by the swiftness and precision of her movement.

"Do not talk of him like that or I'll show you what the little girl can do" she spat but quickly, half a dozen guards were around her, ready to fire their arrows at her as soon as their king would give them the permission.

Luna did not even spare a look for them and determinately kept her eyes locked with Thranduil's.

"Bring her to the cells" he then said after a little pause.

She still didn't leave his eyes when the guards abruptly grabbed her, knocked the blade out of her hand and tied her arms behind her back.

"You are a coward" she spat before the guards could pull her away. Before being dragged out of sight, she exchanged a quick look with Thorin and although he didn't say anything she caught a glimpse of pride in his eyes and then she was pulled around a corner and the two kings were left alone.

* * *

When they arrived at the cells, Luna saw that the dwarves had been locked alone or in pair and they all watched as she was dragged in front of one by Legolas who ignored the curses coming from every direction.

"Search her again" he told Tauriel who had followed him. "Make sure that she doesn't keep any weapon this time"

The ginger elf obeyed and Luna wondered for an absurd moment if she was going to be robbed of all her clothes. She only had her shirt, pants and boots on when she was finally pushed inside the cell in which Kili had been locked previously. He caught her before she could fall and shot his most murderous glance at Legolas who left without a word, calling to Tauriel to follow him but she seemed to hesitate and remained a bit longer.

"The stone in your hand, what is it?" she asked Kili, noticing the little stone he had been playing with.

Luna shot a look at it and recognised the token Dis had given her son before they had left.

"It is a talisman" the dwarf answered to her great surprise.

Tauriel's face did not change but Luna was certain that she was curious.

"A powerful spell lies upon it, if any but a dwarf reads the runes on this stone…he will be forever cursed" he suddenly held up the stone so that the elf would see it better and she took a step backwards.

Luna bit her lip to subdue a smile. She still remembered the day when they had left the blue mountains to start their quest. She had caught a glimpse of Dis warmly embracing her sons and having them repeating a dozen times that they would be careful. She had had to promise it too for Fili and Kili's mother had always cared a lot for her as well and Luna didn't doubt that if she had been her daughter as well, she wouldn't have let her go.

"Or not" Kili added before Tauriel could go, "depending on whether you believe in that kind of things, it's just a token. A rune-stone. My mother gave it to me so I'd remember my promise"

"What promise?"

"That I will come back to her"

Now, Luna rolled her eyes at his flirty attitude. She shot a deadly glance at Tauriel.

"What do you want from us?" she snapped at her, cutting short Kili's little game and the elf looked surprised by this sudden harsh tone.

"Is it true? That you are the captain of Erebor?" she murmured.

"Why? Am I too small? A girl? Too thin?"

"That is not what I meant"

"I don't know why it should bother you anyway, captain or not, you captured me, are you happy?"

Even Kili seemed to be surprised by her harsh tone and irritated look. He had never seen Luna be some cold and rude to someone she did not know, even if that person was an elf.

"How did you know Legolas, back in the forest?" Tauriel asked.

"Keep your friends close to you, and your enemies even closer"

"What?"

"That's something my father used to say a lot. A captain should always know the people his king might have to deal with someday, let them be friends or foes"

The elf pensively nodded. She was also a captain in Mirkwood and had been very surprised to find another woman bearing such an important title. She did not know much about this dwarf girl yet, no more than the few stories she had heard of her father and predecessor, but there was something about her that she had never found in anybody.

"It was very bold of you to threaten the king in such a way" she said.

"You did what?" Kili exclaimed, bewildered and turning to Luna who shrugged her shoulders.

"If he insults or threatens my king then I will stop him, no matter who he is"

"You are a surprising person"

"You have no idea" Kili sighed, rolling his eyes.

* * *

When they were finally left alone, Luna sighed and sat on the ground with her back against the wall of the cell. Kili watched her do and an awkward silence settled between them. They hadn't really spoken since what had happened at Beorn's house and it felt awkward to be locked in the same cell now.

Kili had felt really miserable since that had happened and that they had stopped talking. He was used to always have Luna at his side, to talk with her of whatever would come to his mind or just be silent and walk on. He was used to her presence next to him when they slept almost as much as he was used to Fili's and ever since they had left Beorn, all of that had been taken away from him : she had been avoiding him day and night and he could count on the fingers of one hand the words they had exchanged.

It had to change, to go back to how it was before, she was too important to him to lose her like that. He hesitated for a few moments, letting silence settle between them until he took a deep breath and sat next to her.

Luna tensed when he did so but she forced herself to let nothing appear of her uneasiness.

"I'm sorry for what happened at Beorn's house" Kili said in a half-whisper to make sure that the others in their cells would not hear him.

Luna was taken aback by these words that came out of the blue. She paused for a moment then shook her head.

"Don't be, I am the one who should be sorry"

"No, Luna, it's my fault. I don't know what took me…but I regret it, I sincerely do and I can't go on if I know that you despise me"

"Kili, I could never despise you" she sighed, turning towards him to meet his eyes and squeezing his hands. "Without you, I am nothing"

"Nothing but a foolish squirrel" he grinned at her and she chuckled. "So are we alright?"

She firmly nodded.

"We won't talk about it again" she said and he smiled again, feeling a wave of relief flowing through him.

Both were lying to themselves : they wouldn't be able to forget their kiss so easily but at least, now they would talk to each other. If loving the other meant losing him or her, then they would keep their feelings to themselves. For nothing in the world would they risk to lose the other.

"So…what happened to not fancying elf maids?" she asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Every time you see that elf, you start flirting with her"

"I'm not flirting!"

"Surely not" she ironically exclaimed.

"I am not flirting, you are the one being mean to her for no reason, she doesn't seem that bad!"

"For no reason?! Sorry, I think you missed the part where she captured us, robbed us of all our possessions and threw us into these cells. But I must admit you are right, she doesn't look bad at all, does she?"

"Not half as bad as Haleth back in Rivendell, mmh?"

"Oh stop it…"

Kili chuckled.

"I am trying to get her to like us so that she might free us" he tried to justify himself.

"Seriously? That's your idea of a plan?"

"It's better then nothing, at least _I_ try!"

"I hope that your rune stone is powerful…" she sighed and got a little kick in the ribs from him that made her laugh and he enjoyed the sound of that laugh as if it was the last and most beautiful thing he would ever hear in his life.

In the cell next to theirs, Fili heard despite himself his brother chuckling and the young girl laughing and couldn't repress a smile. They might be in a bad situation from which there seemed to be no chance of getting away but at least, things seemed to have settled back to normal between the two young dwarves. Or at least, _almost_ normal…


	19. Perils down the river

**Chapter XVIII : Perils down the river**

"I'll wager the sun is on the rise" Bofur's voice came from his cell, breaking the silence. "It must be nearly dawn"

"We're never going to reach the mountain, are we?"

Luna sighed at Ori's sad question. She wanted to tell him that of course, they were, but right now it seemed that he was right. They had been locked for hours already, maybe more, and there seemed to be no way to get out of there.

She looked up to meet Kili's eyes across the cell and they exchanged a sad look when suddenly, another voice piped out from outside the cells.

"No, stuck in here you're not" Bilbo whispered, appearing out of nowhere with the set of keys in his hand.

Both Luna and Kili jumped on their feet and rushed to the door of the cell to see the hobbit with their own eyes. They were imitated by all of the dwarves whose faces showed incredulity and happiness at the same time.

"Bilbo!" Balin exclaimed.

Most of the dwarves started exclaiming and congratulating the hobbit and only became quiet again when he hushed them.

"There are guards nearby!" the hobbit exclaimed in a whisper, unlocking the door behind which Thorin was locked.

The dwarf stepped out of his cell and watched Bilbo with a bewildered look on his face but the hobbit didn't lose time and immediately went to unlock the others one by one.

Luna truly realised that he was actually there, saving them, when the door of their cell opened and not able to retain herself, she pulled the hobbit in a warm embrace.

"Bilbo Baggins, you are worth a hundred guards of Erebor!" she whispered and he awkwardly hugged her back before gently pushing her away to go and free Fili.

"What was that?"

"You first!"

"Ori!"

"No! That way!"

Bilbo looked at the dwarves who were looking in every direction, trying to figure out the way out and decided to take the lead.

"Down here, follow me!" he exclaimed and started running down a flight of steps.

The company followed him in a line and they quietly made their way down into the entrails of Mirkwood until they arrived in what looked like a wine cellar where they found two guards sleeping, snoring loudly.

"This way" Bilbo whispered, carefully walking towards large empty barrels. "Come on"

"I don't believe it, we're in the cellars!" Kili exclaimed, turning angrily towards the others.

"You're supposed to be leading us out, not further in!" Bofur added.

"I know what I'm doing!"

"Hush!" Luna exclaimed and stepped forward towards the barrels, hoping that the others would follow her. She trusted Bilbo with her life and no matter what the others thought, now wasn't the time to doubt him.

Fortunately they stepped after her and shot Bilbo questioning looks.

"Everyone, climb into the barrels, quickly!"

"Are ye mad?" Dwalin angrily said, "They'll find us!"

"No, no, they won't! I promise you! Please, please, you must trust me!"

The dwarves looked at each other, not knowing what to do and Bilbo desperately sighed. From high above them, they heard a shout, their escape wasn't unknown anymore and the elves would soon arrive and find them. Dwalin opened his mouth to protest again but Luna interrupted him.

"Dwalin" she coldly said to shut him up. "Everyone into the barrels, do as he says"

Her tone surprised everyone, Bilbo mostly. She had spoken with a neutral yet implacable voice and when they turned to her, despite the fact that she was weaponless and looked smaller than ever without her usual clothes, they saw a fierce and professional captain who was leading them out of this mess.

It was barely unnecessary for Thorin to add "Do as he says" ; they had already climbed into the barrels without asking further question.

In a matter of seconds, all the dwarves were in one barrel each and Bofur's head piped out from his.

"What do we do now?" he asked and all the dwarves' heads popped out to look at Bilbo who was standing by a lever.

"Hold your breath"

"Hold my breath? What do you mean hold my…"

Bofur's phrase ended in a cry when the hobbit pushed on the lever and the ground beneath them moved downwards. Luna clung onto the sides of her barrels as they all rolled down the slope and dropped down into the water.

Luna coughed when her barrel emerged from the water and brushed her wet hair away from her face. She looked around her, they had landed in a river that was leaving Mirkwood! Bilbo soon fell into the water in his turn and clung onto her barrel, spitting out water.

"Well done, master Baggins!" Thorin exclaimed with a wide smile on his face and the hobbit waved the compliment away. "Come on!"

The dwarves hurried after him, paddling towards the entrance of the cave they had fallen in and soon, they found themselves into the open air and even fell down a little waterfall into a wider, more tumultuous river where the current was strong enough to carry them away without them having to paddle.

It wasn't going to be that easy though and Luna snapped her head back when they heard the sound of a horn signalling their flight. Looking in front of her, she saw an open gateway, only a few meters from them. She saw Thorin trying to hurry towards it before it was too late but unfortunately, the guards standing on it pulled a lever down and the metallic gates closed just as the dwarf was reaching them.

"No!" he shouted as the other barrels started to collide against his and they found their way suddenly cut down by the gates.

Luna looked up at the elf standing on the little bridge. She shot him a murderous glance, her mind racing to try and find a way to keep moving before it was too late when suddenly, an arrow came flying from the surrounding woods and hit the elf straight in the neck, killing him instantly. He fell into the water as orcs appeared from between the trees and jumped from the banks onto the bridge, killing the remaining elves.

She looked around her to see dozens of orcs coming from every direction and rushing towards their small group, huddled in their barrels against the closed gate and weaponless.

The orcs started throwing themselves at them and they tried to defend themselves as best as they could using their bare hands. With the help of Bilbo, Luna pushed away an orc who had been trying to drown her and grabbed his sword before he fell into the water. She snapped her head back when she heard an order being given in black speech, half-expecting to find Azog but her eyes landed on a very tall and evil looking orc who was pointing in her direction.

"Bolg" she gritted between her teeth, recognising from her father's long descriptions Azog's son.

She met eyes with him and he gave her an evil smirk that made her want to throw up. Her attention was suddenly drawn back to the company when she saw Kili jumping out from his barrel onto the bank.

"Kili!" she exclaimed, and without further thinking, imitated him and hauled herself onto the stones as well.

He ducked to avoid the blow of an orc then grabbed a dagger that Dwalin tossed him and slashed at his opponent who couldn't avoid it and stumbled backwards towards the river in which Luna pushed him.

"What are you doing?!" she shouted, grabbing his arm.

"The lever!" he pointed at it, no one was guarding it anymore and she nodded.

"Quickly then" she pushed him towards the bridge and turned around just on time to avoid being killed by another orc.

She more or less easily managed to push back all the enemies that came at her and tried her best to keep them from getting to Kili. She almost slipped from the bridge at some point but recovered her balance on time to slice the head off the orc who had tried to push her. She took the opportunity of a brief moment during which no enemy stood in front of her to look up and what she saw petrified her in terror.

On the bridge, Kili had almost reached the lever and further away on the bank, Bolg had seen him and had an arrow fitted to his bow, ready to shoot him.

She didn't hear herself shout his name as she launched herself towards him. Time suddenly seemed to slow down when the arrow was fired straight towards the young prince's heart.

Her shout probably caught his attention because he snapped his head back to look at her and seeing the terror in her eyes, took a step backwards and instead of hitting his heart, the arrow hit his leg.

She saw the pain in his eyes who hadn't left hers and heard his brother calling his name from the river. Kili tried to reach for the lever but wasn't able to pull it down and, his face torn with pain, fell on the stone bridge.

Luna came back to reality so suddenly that she gasped. She saw Bolg looking at Kili with a satisfied smile and felt an anger such as she had never known flow through her.

With a cry, she forced her way through the orcs to the young dwarf, cutting down any foe that stood in her way. She fell down on her knees next to him when she finally reached him and from the corner of her eye, saw Bolg ready to fire another arrow towards them.

She instinctively put herself in front of Kili and shot a deadly glance at the orc, ready to be hit by his arrow when suddenly, more elves came from everywhere and Bolg had to fight against those throwing themselves at him.

"Luna…the lever…" Kili whispered, his voice filled with pain.

She looked up and finally pulled it down. The gates opened and the dwarves were free to go down the river at least. On the banks, the orcs and the elves had started a fierce fight and in the river, the barrels containing the dwarves started moving again and they fell down another little waterfall to pursue their way into the rapids.

Luna didn't lose a second : with all her strengths, she pushed Kili towards the edge of the bridge and saw Fili who had stayed underneath it, waiting for them. She exchanged a brief, worried glance with him and was about to push the young dwarf down into his barrel when he held on to her, firmly grabbing her forearm.

"Don't" he hissed in pain.

"I'll be right there" she whispered and he nodded then she pushed him off the bridge and he fell into his barrel, the arrow snapping out of his leg.

Her own barrel seemed to have been destroyed by an orc who had crashed on it and she was about to jump into the water and just hold onto another barrel like Bilbo was doing when something suddenly caught her by the throat and lifted her up. She choked and heard the brothers shouting her name before finally being taken by the current down the waterfall.

"What will you do now, girl?" Bolg whispered in her ear.

She felt the end of his blade, cold and sharp, tracing its way from her shoulder to the centre of her back and moaned in pain as it cut through her flesh. When she felt it stop for a second on her back on the spot where he just had to push it through her skin to pierce her heart, she gathered all her strengths and swung her legs back, hitting him in the stomach so violently that he dropped her and she fell down from the bridge into the water.

She fell down the waterfall and while she briefly resurfaced, she looked back at the bridge, fearing that Bolg would have followed her but she found Tauriel and Legolas chasing him away on the banks. She had no time to mentally thank the elves for keeping him busy as she was brought back underwater by the currents that were stronger than she would have thought.

She held her breath as long as she could, fighting her way back towards the surface but every time she managed to emerge from the water, she was immediately thrown back at the bottom of the river again.

At one point, she saw that the orcs kept on chasing them, running on the banks, and that they themselves were chased by the elves. She took a glimpse of the barrels in which the dwarves were a bit further down the river. It was easy to tell that the company had no control on their rides anymore in the tumultuous waters and that all they were trying to do was to push back the orcs that were still attempting to kill them in their flight.

Then she was underwater again. She pushed as hard as she could with her feet at the bottom of the river to come back up and when she did, she thought she heard her name being called further away but the water took her again and suddenly, her head hardly hit a rock and darkness enveloped her.

* * *

Kili fell down the waterfall in his barrel and when he emerged again, he turned, expecting to find Luna in the water, holding on to his barrel but he realised in horror that she wasn't there.

He looked up and gasped when he saw that the huge orc that had shot him was standing on the edge of the bridge, holding the young girl by the throat over the river.

"Luna!" he yelled, trying to paddle back towards the bridge but his efforts were vain : the current was way too strong in this part of the river.

"Kili!"

His head snapped up at his brother's voice and he ducked just in time to avoid an or that jumped from the bank towards him.

He turned his head back towards the bridge and caught a glimpse of Tauriel and Legolas who had arrived and were fighting the orcs on the banks.

He held his breath when he saw Luna kicking at the orc holding her then falling into the water.

"Leave her!" he shouted at the orc when he saw that he was fitting an arrow to his bow and pointing it at the water where Luna had fell.

His shout caught Tauriel's attention and she quickly understood what was happening. The elf shot an arrow that deviated the orc's one from its trajectory then raced towards him to fight him and was quickly joined by Legolas. The two elves had the advantage over Bolg who had to run away from the bridge and leave Luna to the river.

Kili didn't have time to watch in awe the elves that had just saved the young girl though and he looked for a flash of red hair in the water.

"Luna!" he called when she resurfaced, a few meters away from him. She turned her eyes towards him but before she was able to reach for him, the currents pushed her underwater again and he lost sight of her.

"No! Luna!"

His own barrel was swiftly being carried away and he had to pay attention to the rocks and fallen trees blocking their way and also to the orcs who kept on pursuing them from the banks.

He caught a glimpse of the girl again but she was even further away from him then all at once, he didn't see her again and she didn't resurface.

"Luna!" he yelled before falling down another waterfall and landing in a part of the river where the current was so strong that the dwarves were going quicker than the elves and orcs running on the banks.

"Kili, no!" Fili shouted when he saw that his brother was about to jump out of his barrel to go and look for the young girl in the water.

The dwarf didn't listen though but just as he was about to leave his barrel, two strong hands came out of nowhere and pushed him back in it and he found himself face to face with Dwalin who had left his ride and was swimming in the rapid waters.

"Stay there" the big warrior ordered and he went himself to find Luna.

Kili watched in distress the dwarf dive into the water and for a moment that seemed to last an eternity, he feared that he might not reappear again until suddenly, he came back to the surface with the girl and swam towards his own barrel that Balin had kept next to his as hard as he could.

"Luna!"

She did not answer. The young prince watched Dwalin place her in his barrel then hauled himself into it as well then the current became so strong all the dwarves could do was hold on and pray they wouldn't drown.

* * *

When the river finally became calm again, the company had been pushed so far away by the current that they had lost the orcs and the elves and that they had arrived at the point where the river threw itself into a huge lake.

"Anything behind us?" Thorin asked.

"Not that I can see" Balin replied, looking behind his shoulder.

"I think we've outrun the orcs" Bofur said.

"Not for long, we've lost the current…make for the shore!" Thorin ordered and they all started paddling towards the closest bank. "Come on, let's go!"

The dwarves slowly crawled out of their barrels onto the rocky shore and some of the dwarves collapsed in exhaustion. They were wet to the bone and had nothing with them : no food, no weapons and barely enough clothes to cover themselves.

Kili hauled himself onto dry land with Fili's help and, ignoring the pain that made his whole leg burn, he raced to Dwalin who had also reached the shore and was holding the limpness body of Luna in his arms.

"On your feet!" Thorin snapped.

"Kili and Luna are wounded" Fili darkly replied, shooting his uncle a bad look.

"There's an orc pack on our trail, we keep moving"

"To where?" Balin sighed.

"To the mountain, we are so close!" Bilbo exclaimed.

"A lake lies between us and that mountain, we have no way to cross it"

"So then we go round"

"The orcs will run us down, as sure as daylight. And we have no weapon to defend ourselves…plus, our captain is not responding"

They all turned towards the young girl that he had laid down on the ground. Kili crawled next to her and took her hand in his. Her face was pale, her lips slightly turning blue and a trail of blood was running down from her temple where she had hit a rock.

"Oh no…" he muttered, cupping her face. "Please wake up"

Oïn leaned on her to check her pulse then hurriedly pushed the dwarves who were coming closer away.

"She needs air!" he hissed.

He then professionally put both hands on her chest and started pressing down in quick, repeated movements and fortunately, in only a couple of seconds, the young girl coughed water out of her lungs, rolling on her side and opened her eyes to everyone's relief.

"Mahal…" Kili sighed, bringing her hand up to his lips to kiss her knuckles.

"Are you alright, lass?" Oïn asked, helping her in a sitting position and she nodded, rubbing her head.

The dwarves moved away and Thorin deeply sighted. He looked down at Luna, sitting on the ground with Kili who wouldn't let go of her hand. She still looked a bit stoned, Kili's leg was bleeding and a bit further, Dwalin was still trying to catch his breath from his perilous swim in the river. But what he couldn't help but notice most of everything was the way his nephew looked at her and sticked to her side.

"Are you aware of how unconscious you are?" he barked at the young girl, feeling a strange anger boiling inside him.

She looked up at him in surprise just as all the others did.

"You almost got yourself killed! Kili got shot and Dwalin almost drowned trying to save you!" he went on.

"Thorin…" Balin started but a look from the dwarf silenced him.

"I was just trying to do my job" the young girl tried to defend herself, not understanding at all what was happening. She had a frown on her face. Her head was still spinning from the hit she had gotten but she wouldn't let Thorin talk to her like that, it was not in her temper.

"Well do it better then! I won't risk the lives of my warriors for you!"

"Uncle, stop it" Fili dryly said but Thorin paid no attention to him.

"Dwalin didn't ask your permission to go and take me out of the water if I am not wrong and I doubt he would have listened to your interdiction" she spat.

Kili almost wanted to push the young girl behind him to shelter her from his uncle's glance. He had often got the dwarf angry at him when he was younger but never had he been confronted to such a deadly glance as the one he was giving Luna right now.

"I told you already, do not speak to me like that" he growled in a low, threatening voice. "Learn to stay in your place"

Luna opened her mouth to protest once again but a warning look from Kili restrained her from doing so.

"Bind his leg, quickly. You have two minutes" Thorin snapped at Fili then walked away.

The dwarves nervously looked at each other, not understanding what had just happened.

"What is wrong with him?" Luna asked when Fili kneeled in front of them to bind Kili's leg with a stripe of his own shirt. She even wondered if the hit she had gotten on her head wasn't making her delirious.

"Let him be, it's just his way of relieving his worry" the blonde dwarf tried to reassure her with a little smile.

It didn't seem to work though but she didn't add anything. Fili bit his lip, it was true that anger was probably a way for Thorin to express the worry he had just had but there was something else that caused him to be so harsh towards the young girl…like everyone else in the company, he could tell that something was going on between her and his younger nephew. Fili had hoped he would be happy about it or, at least, not pay attention to it but it looked like his uncle wasn't too much happy about whatever was happening between the two young dwarves.

A bit further, Ori was emptying his boots of the water that had gotten into them when suddenly, a shadow loomed over him. He looked up in fear to find a tall figure standing above him on a rock, bow in hand and ready to shoot him.

Dwalin stepped in front of him, holding a branch before him to stop the arrow that flew towards them.

Kili instinctively picked up a little rock and raised it above his head to throw it at the bowman but he was too quick and another arrow knocked the rock out of his hand.

"Do that again" the man hissed, "and you're dead"

They all gazed at him, not sure of what to do until from the corner of his eye, Balin saw a boat tied on to a rock a bit further behind the man.

"Excuse me but…you're from Laketown, if I'm not mistaking" he said, carefully taking a few steps towards the man who turned his bow towards him. "That barge over there…it wouldn't be available for hire, by any chance?"


	20. The bowman

**Chapter XIX : The bowman**

"What makes you think I will help you?"

The dwarves were carefully watching the man as he was loading the empty barrels onto his little boat.

"Those boots have seen better days, as has that coat" Balin said with a little smile "And no doubt you have some hungry mouths to feed. How many bairns?"

"A boy and two girls" the bowman sighed.

Luna was leaning with Kili against a rock while Fili was standing besides his brother. She was witnessing the bargaining attempt between Balin and the archer and trying to focus her vision that was at times blurry because of her injury.

"And your wife I imagine she is a beauty" the old dwarf went on with a little wink.

"Aye…she was"

Balin's smile faded and he looked down.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…"

"Oh, come on, come on, enough of the niceties" Dwalin growled, turning to the man.

"What's your hurry?" the last asked, looking up at the strong dwarf warrior who looked impressive even without all his furs and weapons.

"What is it to you?"

"I would like to know who you are, what you are doing in these lands"

"We are simple merchants from the blue mountains, journeying to see our kin in the Iron Hills" Balin explained, his smile returning to his face. "This young lady over here is my niece and the lad next to her is her fiancé. They are to be married in a fortnight in the Iron Hills where our family lives"

The man's eyes turned to the two young dwarves who both furiously blushed. Was Balin seriously starting again with this story of their engagement? At the same time, she knew it was the best possible excuse to justify the presence of a young girl such as her in a company of dwarves, without revealing who they were and what they were planning to do.

None of the dwarves knew what had actually happened between Kili and her, besides Fili maybe, and some couldn't subdue big smiles from their faces and all nodded in approbation. Only Thorin shot the pair a quizzical look when his nephew gently took Luna's hand in his and Fili said nothing.

"Well congratulations then, you boy are lucky, but you should take better care of her" the man ironically said, raising an eyebrow.

It was Goblin Town all over again and Luna hated it.

"Watch your tongue, bowman, else you will learn the hard way that I don't need anyone to look after me" she spat.

He narrowed his eyes, surprised that such a thin looking girl was answering him like that. Thorin shot a dark look at Luna and raised a hand to silence her then turned himself towards the man.

"We need food, supplies, weapons. Can you help us?" he asked.

The archer paused for a moment and rubbed his thumb on one of the barrels where an arrow had damaged the wood.

"I know where these barrels came from" he said.

"What of it?"

"I don't know what business you had with the elves but I don't think it ended well"

He went back to loading the barrels onto his boat and went on : "No one enters Laketown without leave of the Master. All his wealth comes from trade with the Woodland Realm. He would see you in irons before risking the wrath of king Thranduil"

Balin turned to Thorin, looking as if he was out of ideas.

"Offer more" the dwarf king whispered.

"I'll wager there are ways to enter that town unseen" the old dwarf added.

"Aye…but for that, you need a smuggler"

"For which we would pay…double"

* * *

"For your fiancee" Bard sarcastically said, passing a spare coat to Kili for Luna.

Kili just shot him a bad look but Luna elbowed him.

"Thank you" she said.

She was actually very grateful for that coat. Not only was she starting to get cold in her drenched shirt but she was also starting to feel indecent barely dressed amongst all those men. It was probably one of the bowman's old spare ones which meant it was ten times too big for her but it was far better than nothing.

"I don't think he believed Balin's story" Kili said, sitting next to her. "We definitely don't look like a happy couple"

Weeks, maybe even months ago, that would have made her laugh. All it did now was to make her blush and she tried to hide her face behind her hair.

"I think the goblin king did believe us" she said, shrugging her shoulders, "he just didn't care"

"It surprised me that Balin tried once again"

"I think he was running out of ideas…and to be honest, how else would you justify my presence in the company without revealing that I am supposed to be the captain of Erebor?"

"What do you mean _supposed to be_?" he raised an eyebrow.

She waved the remark off, she didn't want to talk about it now. Their crossing the lake was going very peacefully so far and she wanted nothing more than to take advantage of the calm surrounding them to rest. Thinking about Thorin and how he had acted would not help.

Kili was about to say something when his uncle suddenly called him from the other side of the boat and gestured for him to go to him. He sighed, he didn't really want to listen to what Thorin had to say right now and would much rather stay with Luna but the young girl gently pushed him up.

"Go" she whispered.

He nodded and pulled himself up, wincing at the pain in his leg but giving Luna a reassuring nod when she looked at him with worry in her eyes.

He walked to where his uncle was standing, a bit apart from the others and tried his best to walk normally and not let anything show of the pain that was burning in his whole leg.

"What is it?" he asked.

"We need to talk" his uncle coldly replied.

"About what?"

"About Luna" Thorin seemed a bit awkward but hid his uneasiness behind his usual implacable mask.

"What about her?"

"You know what I want to talk about. Your relationship with her seems to have…changed over the past few weeks. Care to explain yourself?"

"That's nonsense" Kili mumbled but as he made a move to go away, his uncle caught his arm, not hardly but quite firmly.

"I am not done, Kili. I have seen how you act around her, everyone in this company has seen it"

"I don't know what you're talking about"

"Is there something going on between the two of you?"

"Let me go"

"Are you…in love with her?" the words sounded strange in his mouth to both of them.

"That is none of your business, and even if it was, why would you care?"

"You are a prince of Erebor, Kili, and she is the captain. Nothing more than friendship will ever be possible between the two of you"

"Why not? Why couldn't there be more?"

"Her role is to risk her life to protect you and could even be to sacrifice her life for yours. If you were to love her, would you let her do?"

The young dwarf didn't answer and Thorin sighed.

"You can not put yourself between her and her faith. You are the one who must live and she is the one who must make sure you do at any cost"

He sadly sighed when Kili said nothing. His nephew loved Luna, if he had still had doubts about it at the beginning of the conversation, he was now certain of it. He put a hand on his shoulder.

"Someday, when we will have Erebor back and that everything will be settled, you will find yourself a fine princess that will undoubtedly suit you"

He felt Kili tense up at this and his nephew shot him a dark look.

"Tell me, uncle…are you more worried about the fact that something might happen to Luna or the fact that she is not royalty?" he icily asked.

Thorin's hand left his shoulder. Never had he heard Kili speak in such a tone. The young dwarf was usually cheerful and always tried to avoid confrontation so hearing his voice so cold and angry left him bewildered.

"Do not speak to me of her again" the young prince added. "Not if it is in such terms"

And without giving his uncle the time to say anything more, he turned his heels and walked back to the spot where he had left Luna a few moments ago.

Thorin's attempts at trying to convince him he shouldn't love the young girl had resulted in exactly the opposite. He realised now, as he looked at her, that despite the fact that he was hiding it, he had fallen madly in love with her. He hadn't dared to admit it until now but he knew why he had felt so despaired and so miserable during the time they had not talked to each other after what happened at Beorn's house. He was connected to her, he needed her with him everyday and fearing that she might despise him was the most horrible thing that had ever happened to him. It was even more than love that he felt for the young girl, he was forced to admit it now for he could feel it, despite all his denying. She was his One.

It was well known that dwarves all had a One, a person that was their soul mate and that was matched to them in every possible way. Very few were those lucky enough to find theirs and what that happened they were considered either the happiest or the most miserable beings in the universe ; happiest if their One loved them back, most miserable if it wasn't the case and then they were condemned to spend the rest of their lives never able to love another person and watching their One be happy with someone else.

Was Kili Luna's One? He had no idea, and he doubted he would be that lucky. She was _his_ One, however, he was certain of that. He could feel his connection to her stronger than he had ever felt anything but he wouldn't say a word of this to her, not anymore, else he might lose her forever and he'd rather die than live without her, even if it was just as friends.

* * *

The fog on the lake was so dense that the dwarves only saw the huge rock formations standing tall in the water seconds before almost crashing onto them.

"Watch out!" Bofur cried out but the bowman was very at ease with his boat and he expertly lead it between the huge rocks.

"What are you trying to do? Drown us?" Thorin growled.

"I was born and bred on these waters, master dwarf. If I wanted to drown you, I would not do it here" the man calmly replied.

"Oh, I've had enough of this lumpy lake man. I say we throw him over the side and be done with it" Dwalin muttered.

"Mmh, Bard, his name is Bard" Bilbo irritably said.

"How do you know?"

"Ahem, I asked him?"

"I don't care what he calls himself, I don't like him" Dwalin insisted.

"We don't have to like him, we simply have to pay him" Balin said, sitting a bit further, carefully counting coins. "Come on now, lads. Turn out your pockets"

"How do we know he won't betray us?" Dwalin whispered to Thorin.

"We don't" the last answered in the same low tone.

"There's a…there's a little problem" Balin announced, recounting the coins. "We're ten coins short"

Thorin folded his arms.

"Gloin" he said, "Come on, give us what you have"

"Don't look to me!" the big dwarf exclaimed. "I have been bled dry by this adventure! What have I seen for my investment? Naught but misery and grief!"

He stopped talking when he saw the others around him slowly getting to their feet and staring at something before them. When he saw what it was, he stood up as well and dropped his jaw in awe.

Despite his injury, Kili stood up as well and even Luna got to her feet and suddenly fell small and in full admiration in front of the looming shape of the lonely mountain, proudly standing before them on the opposite shore of the lake.

"Bless my beard" Gloin muttered beneath his breath then held out his purse to Balin. "Take it, take all of it"

Bilbo was the only one to turn his head towards Bard and he cleared his throat when the bowman walked towards them.

"The money, quick. Give it to me" he hurried them.

"We will pay you when we get our provisions and not before" Thorin replied.

"If you value your freedom, you'll do as I say. There are guards ahead"

They snapped their heads in the direction he pointed at and saw that they were approaching the first signs of Laketown.

* * *

Bard's idea had not pleased the dwarves from the start ; getting back into the barrels was everything but pleasing so when fishes started dropping down on them to fill each of the barrels, curses both in Khûzdul and in the common tongue were heard from every barrel.

"Quiet" the man snapped, kicking at the barrel closest to him with his foot. "We're approaching the toll gate"

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Luna asked, sitting besides him on the boat.

They had been one barrel short and there wasn't enough room for two people in one so it had been decided that Luna would stay with Bard who would pretend he had found her wounded on the shores of the lake and hadn't been able to let her alone at the mercy of orcs and animals.

It would be easier to convince people that such a tale was true with her than with any of the others plus from the whole company, she was the one who looked the least like a dwarf and hopefully, she could be mistaken for a very petite and defenceless human. Also, dry blood was still covering her temple from the hit she had gotten in the river and she looked exhausted and cold, if they were lucky enough she would pass for a child who had lost herself.

"Just stick to your role and let me do the talking" Bard shrugged his shoulders.

She wrapped Bard's coat tighter around her and watched Laketown that had appeared from the fog before them, with its many wooden houses and little bridges.

"Halt! Goods inspection!" a man cried out as the boat had reached the entrance of the town. "Make haste please!"

Bard manoeuvred the boat so it would come to an halt near the dock on which the man was standing and the last seemed to recognise him at last. "Oh, it's you Bard"

"Morning, Percy"

"Anything to declare?"

"Nothing, but that I am cold and tired…and ready for home" Bad sighed, stepping out of the boat and handing out a piece of parchment to the man.

Luna tried to make herself look as small as possible. The man's eyes landed on her.

"Who is that?" he asked.

"Just a child that I found, she was lost and hurt, I couldn't let her wander alone"

"That's very much like you to care for those in need" Percy said with a soft smile, apposing a stamp on Bard's papers. "There we are, all in order"

"Not so fast" came the displeasing voice of another man behind him. He was the ugliest person Luna had ever seen and looked despicable as he took the papers from Percy's hand. "Consignment of empty barrels from the Woodland Realm" he read then turned to Bard who had tensed.

"Only, they're not empty" he added, walking towards the boat and throwing the papers aside. "Are they, Bard? If I recall correctly, you're licensed as a bargeman, not a fisherman. Plus, who is that child that you bring with you? Doesn't this town have enough mouths to feed yet?"

"That's none of your business" Bard dryly replied.

"Well, it's the master's business, which makes it my business"

"Oh, come on, Alfred, have a heart. People need to eat! I found this girl hurt and alone, she needed care"

"These fish are illegal! Empty the barrels over the side and bring the child to me" he ordered the guards following him.

"You heard him? In the canal" one of the guards added and they stepped past Bard into the barge to execute the order.

Luna made a move to intervene but a look from Bard had her remain where she was.

"Folk in this town are struggling. Times are hard, food is scarce!" Bard insisted.

"That's not my problem"

"And when people will hear that the master is dumping fish back in the lake? When the rioting starts? Will it be your problem then?"

Alfred's face showed all his hatred for Bard but he raised his hand to stop the guards.

"Stop" he exclaimed and to Luna's relief, the guards put the barrels back in their places but the one who had grabbed her didn't let go of her arm.

"Leave the girl alone, I will care for her" Bard snapped at the guard who, after a nod from Alfred, let go of Luna.

"Ever the people' champion, are you Bard? Protector of the common folk. You might have their favour now bargeman but it won't last. This child won't be fed or protected by the master, she is your problem" Alfred spat before angrily walking away.

"Raise the gate!" Percy shouted.

"The master has his eye on you, you'll do well to remember" Alfred warned Bard as he was back on the boat and manoeuvring it through the gate. "We know where you live"

"It's a small town, Alfred" Bard replied. "Everyone knows where everyone lives"

Luna looked at the hateful face of the master's counsellor until it was out of sight then watched the town and couldn't help thinking that it was quite gloomy and that life here really didn't seem easy.

Bard finally stopped the barge near a dock and started pushing the barrels aside so that the dwarves could get out. Luna hurried to help the dwarves on their feet, especially Kili whose wince of pain didn't go unnoticed.

"Take your hands off me" Dwalin growled when Bard tried to help him.

The bargeman then put a few coins in the hand of a man who had been watching them in awe.

"You never saw them, they were never here" he whispered to him. "They fish, you can have for nothing"

"Follow me" he hurried the dwarves and they went after him in a line until a young boy ran to them at a corner. Luna could tell at once that he was Bard's son, he looked too much like him to leave any doubt in her mind and the way the bargeman looked fondly at him as soon as he saw him confirmed it.

"Da!" he exclaimed, concern clear in his voice. "Our house, it's being watched!"

* * *

"They are so not going to like this" Luna bit her lip.

With the house being watched, they couldn't let the dwarves come in by the front door and Bard had had an idea which hadn't pleased them at all but which was the only plausible one.

"There's no other way" Bard whispered as he was leading the young girl and his son towards his house. "There we are"

He opened the door of a small wooden house and she stepped in, preceded by Bain, his son. Just before entering in his turn, Bard turned to the river where two men seemed to be peacefully fishing and he threw an apple at one of them.

"You can tell the master I'm done for the day" he said then entered and closed the door behind him.

"Da! Where have you been?" a little girl asked inside the house when she saw her father and she ran to hug him.

"Father, there you are! I was worried!" another one, older, hugged him as well.

"Who is that?" the little one asked when she saw Luna then her eyes widened in surprise when the young girl took Bard's coat off her shoulders and that she realised that she wasn't a little girl her age like she had thought but a young dwarf woman.

"I'm Luna, at your service" she said, slightly bowing.

"These are my daughters, Sigrid and Tilda" Bard introduced absentmindedly, checking out the window for spies. "Bain, get them in" he whispered when he was sure that no unfriendly eyes were watching.

His son ran downstairs to let the dwarves come up from the toilets underneath which they had been hiding and Luna watched them half amused and half worried walk up the stairs and come inside.

"Da…why are there dwarves coming out of our toilet?" Sigrid asked, obviously worried.

"Will they bring us luck?" Tilda added, more cheerful.

Luna bit her lip when she heard her. She had a feeling that from all the things they would bring upon the little family, luck wouldn't be one of them.


	21. Laketown

_**I can't believe this is already the 20th chapter and that we are soon reaching the end of the Desolation of Smaug already! I couldn't think of a better title for this chapter unfortunately but I hope you will still enjoy it. As always, thanks for favouriting/following and let me know why you think!**_

* * *

**Chapter XX : Laketown**

"They may not be the best fit, but they'll keep you warm" Bard said while little Tilda was handing out dry clothes to the dwarves who were trying to warm themselves up by the fire.

"Thank you" Bilbo whispered when the little girl gave him a coat. He was shivering, with the winter approaching, it was getting colder everyday in these parts. Durin's day would very soon be upon them.

Luna came back at that moment with Sigrid from another room where she had gone to get changed in intimacy. She had been given one of Tilda's dresses which were the only clothes in the house that might fit her, Sigird's being too big for her. It might be a child's dress and not very fancy either but she had arranged it in such a way that it looked quite good on her and she had cut the edges so that it would come up to her knees which would be more practical in case she needed to fight. Of course, she had kept her pants and boots underneath it.

Sigrid gave her a shawl to wrap around her shoulders and she buckled her belt around her waist then went to sit next to Fili and Kili after thanking Bard's daughter.

"Look at you, you almost look like a girl now" Fili teased her. "Don't you think, brother?"

Kili shrugged his shoulders without even turning his glance towards them. His leg was hurting so badly now that he could barely put his weight on it without feeling a burning pain running all along it. Fili's smile disappeared from his face.

"Are you alright?" he asked, now really worried.

"I'm fine" Kili replied a bit too harshly to convince him.

"Kili, if you're hurt…" Luna started.

"I'm okay, just let me be"

Fili and the young girl exchanged a look full of concern but didn't insist. Hopefully, the young dwarf was just tired.

She looked around the room at the dwarves sitting here and there and her glance landed on Dwalin towards which she walked.

"Dwalin…thank you for saving me in the river" she humbly said.

He shook his head. "Guards and captains look after each other, right?"

"Yes, but thanks anyway" she returned his smile.

"Ye know lass…ye shouldn't pay too much attention to what Thorin said" he then added in a lower tone by fear of being heard.

"No, he was right. I didn't do a great job back there, on the bridge. If I had been more careful, I could have kept Kili from being hurt and you wouldn't have had to risk your life to save me"

"If ye hadn't been there, lass, he would have gotten that arrow straight in his heart. Actually, if ye hadn't been there, we wouldn't even have passed Rivendell, no doubt. As for the risking my life, it is my duty as much as yours, for this we're in the same boat and I'm proud to be in it with you"

"Thank you" she whispered with a little smile. "My father was always right about you, you're the greatest guard a captain could wish for"

At that moment, they heard Thorin mutter something at the window through which he had been gazing and obviously seeing something, "A dwarfish wind-lance"

"You look like you've seen a ghost" Bilbo remarked.

"He has" Balin softly said, "The last time we saw such a weapon, a city was on fire. It was the day the dragon came, the day that Smaug destroyed Dale. Girion, the lord of the city, rallied his bowmen to fire upon the beast…but a dragon's hide is tough, tougher than the strongest armour. Only a black arrow, fired from a wind lance could have pierced the dragon's hide and few of those arrows were ever made. The stow was running low when Girion made his last stand"

"Had the aim of men had been true that day, much would have been different" Thorin whispered.

"You speak as if you were there" Bard raised an eyebrow.

"All dwarves know the tale" Luna intervened. Her youth would hopefully convince the bargeman that it was true, she could not have been there on that dreadful day, or at least not have been old enough to remember.

"Then you would know that Girion hit the dragon" Bain said quite dryly, "He loosened a scale under the left wing. One more shot and he would have killed the beast"

"That's a fairy story, lad" Dwalin chuckled, "Nothing more"

Thorin stepped forwards and shot Bard a sharp look.

"You took our money" he changed the subject, "Where are our weapons?"

"Wait here" the man replied after a short pause then walked away.

As soon as he was out of the room, Thorin gestured for his nephews and Luna to come near him and Balin.

"Tomorrow begins the last days of autumn" he whispered to them.

"Durin's day falls the morning after next" Balin nodded. "We must reach the mountain before then"

"But if we do not? If we fail to find the hidden door before that time?" Kili asked, his voice full of an usual worry that aggravated Luna's concern for him.

"Then this quest has been for nothing" Fili muttered under his breath.

"We _will_ find the door" Luna cut them in a determined tone. "We did not come all this way to miss it just like that"

Thorin seemed about to say something but footsteps were heard and Bard came back in the room, carrying a long parcel that he put down on the table.

The dwarves gathered around around him while he was unwrapping it and when they discovered the hammers, iron bars and other tools laid down on the table, most of them expressed their disappointment by all sorts of grunts and exclamations.

"What is this?" Thorin growled, taking hold of a tool.

"A pike hook" Bard answered, "Made from an old harpoon"

"And this?" Kili asked with a frown.

"A crow bill we call it, made from a smithy's hammer. It's heavy in hand, I grant you but in defence of your life, these will serve you better than none"

"We paid you for weapons" Gloin argued. "Iron-forged swords and axes!"

"It's a joke!" Bofur exclaimed, throwing the tool he had picked up back on the table and all imitated him.

"You won't find better weapons outside the city armoury" Bard raised his voice "All iron-forged weapons are held there and locked in key"

"Thorin" Balin took him apart when he saw the frown on his face and Bard's eyes flashed to them, "why not take the offer and go? I've made do with less, so have you. I say we leave now"

"You're not going anywhere" Bard darkly scolded.

"What did you say?" Dwalin hissed.

"There's spies watching this house and probably every dock and wharf in the town. You must wait till nightfall"

All the dwarves were angry but there was nothing they could do for now. Time was too precious to them with Durin's day being so close and they couldn't risk to lose any by acting too hastily.

Bard discreetly slipped out of the house and leaned against a wooden fence.

"Thorin" he whispered to himself. He had heard this name for the first time just now, when the old dwarf had said it, or at least it had rung a bell in his head for the first time ever since his encounter with the dwarves.

He had heard that name before, he was certain of it but where? Unconsciously, his eyes turned towards the distant shape of the lonely mountain, standing tall and imposing in the distance. He had noticed, back on the boat, how the company had all stared at it in admiration, their faces filled with a strange mix of emotions but he hadn't really paid attention to it then : they were dwarves after all, Erebor had been a dwarfish kingdom, it was their people's History they had been contemplating them. What he had not doubted though was that they might have been linked much closer to that History that he had thought.

"Da?" came Bain's voice from the door.

"Don"t let them leave" he whispered to his son before running down the stairs and into the narrow streets of Laketown. Those dwarves in his house were connected to the mountain, there was no doubt about it but he had to know how exactly.

* * *

"Kili"

The young dwarf startled and looked up to find Luna standing just in front of him, glaring at him. He had quietly slipped into a corner of the room and sat on a little bench to take a look at his injury which was growing more painful every hour, and he hadn't even noticed the girl coming towards him.

He did his best to smile but it only resulted in a wince of pain.

"Let me have a look"

"No, it's fine" he hurriedly said in a whisper so that the others wouldn't hear them but thankfully, Thorin was talking in hushed tones with Dwalin in the opposite corner of the room and they seemed too busy with their own conversation to sneak a look in their direction.

She did not listen to him though and reached for his bandage but he caught her hands.

"Luna, please…"

"If you don't let me do it, then Thorin will as soon as I tell him"

He paused for a moment and looked up to meet her eyes in which he drowned once again. He really had an issue with Luna's eyes, he couldn't look at them without immediately losing himself in them and it usually took all his will and strengths to turn his own glance away. Every time it happened, he felt like he was peacefully lying on soft grass by a nice summer night, staring at the sky with all the stars filling its deep blue depth.

"Kili" her voice called him back to reality and he blinked several times then let go of her hands and gave a deep sigh.

She carefully unmade the bandage and the concern on her face grew stronger when she saw that the wound wasn't healing as it should.

"It should at least have stopped bleeding by now" she whispered.

"It's alright, I think it's just me who reopened it by a bad move" he tried. She did not look convinced but didn't say anything.

She went to fetch a bowl of water and a clean cloth then proceeded to clean the wound as best as she could.

"Sorry" she said when he winced in pain and she finished by wrapping a new bandage around his leg.

"Thanks" he mumbled.

She sighed and, kneeling in front of him, took his hands and locked eyes with him again.

"Promise me that if it is not better by tomorrow at dawn, you'll tell me" she whispered.

He paused for a short instant, fighting against himself to not fall for her glance again but it was harder than ever when she was giving him such a caring and worried look and that she was holding his hands in hers. He wished at that very moment that they were alone so that he could pull her close against him and know that everything would be alright as long as they were together.

But it couldn't be, if he even dared to do so, she would probably push him back with disgust like she had done when he had kissed her and he was not sure that he could stand it a second time, especially not now that he knew she was his One.

Before he even realised it, he found himself wandering if dwarves could die of a broken heart and thought to himself that maybe knowing his One couldn't love him back was the reason why his injury wasn't healing and slowly draining all his strengths.

"Kili?" she insisted.

"I promise" he vaguely said and that looked to suffice her for now.

She suddenly dropped his hands and stood up when Thorin's voice harshly called them from the other side of the room.

"Kili, Luna, we're leaving. To the armoury"

* * *

All Luna could think of as they were discreetly making their way through the streets of Laketown to the armoury was that it definitely wasn't a good idea. Like Balin had said, they should have just taken the weapons Bard had given them and be gone but Thorin didn't share that opinion.

As soon as night had fallen, they had pushed their way past Bain who had bravely tried to stop them and sneaked out of the house and here they were now : hiding around a corner.

"As soon as we get the weapons, we'll make straight for the mountain" Thorin whispered then checked around him to make sure that they weren't being watched. "Go, go, go!"

The dwarves were getting inside the armoury by a window located at the upper level that they reached by stepping on the backs of the strongest of the company that had formed a pyramid.

"Next!" Thorin pushed Bilbo in front of him.

Luna stepped forward in her turn, ready to go but the dwarf held her back.

"You stay there" he said before going in his turn, not leaving her time to protest. Kili was already inside the armoury and he didn't want her to go and distract him.

Luna watched the dwarf disappear through the window with a dark look on her face and Fili, next to her, squeezed her shoulder.

Inside the armoury, the dwarves and Bilbo were taking as many weapons as they could find. Kili passed from one to another and they all piled up axes, swords and others in his arms.

"You're alright?" Thorin whispered to his nephew when he came next to him, noticing how pale his face was.

"I can manage" the young dwarf mumbled, "Let's just get out of here"

He made for the stairs and walked down a few steps when suddenly, the pain from his injury proved too strong for him and his legs gave out beneath him. He fell down a few steps and couldn't avoid grunting in pain but the worst was the loud clattering noise the blades he had been carrying made when they crashed down the stairs.

The dwarves who had stayed outside heard it too and looked at each other in confusion for a few seconds then they all turned their eyes towards Luna, as if expecting her to give some orders and tell them what to do.

"Run" she muttered but they didn't get the chance to go very far : guards were already coming from every direction and they were soon circled with spears pointed right at them while inside the armoury, the dwarves stood motionless as blades were positioned against their throats.

* * *

The dwarves' grunts and protestations while they were being pushed towards the master's house were enough to wake the whole town and soon, it looked like every inhabitant had left their house to come and find out what was going on.

They were pushed into a semi-circle facing the house with guards standing behind each and every of them while the people where crowding in front of the big house.

"What is the meaning of this?!" the master angrily hissed, hastily stepping out of his door. He obviously didn't appreciate being disturbed at such a late hour.

"We caught them stealing weapons, sire" a guard answered

"Ah, enemies of the state, heh?"

"It's just a bunch of mercenaries if ever there was, sire" Alfred piped in, standing besides the master.

"Watch your tongue" suddenly came Dwalin's low growl, "you do not know to whom you speak. This is no common criminal, this is Thorin, son of Thrain, son of Thror"

Thorin put a hand on Dwalin's shoulder and stepped forward.

"We are the dwarves of Erebor. We have come to reclaim our homeland" he declared then looked around him at the crowd. "I remember this town in the great days of old, fleets of boats laid at harbour, filled with silks and fine gems. It was no forsaken town on a lake! This was the centre of all trade in the North!"

Despite the situation, Luna had to admire the way he had gotten the men of lake town to look at him in amazement and respect with only a few words.

"I will see those days return!" he continued, "We'll relight the great forges of the dwarves and send wealth and riches flowing once more from the halls of Erebor!" and everyone cheered.

"Death!" suddenly came a voice and they all turned to see Bard making his way through the crowds and guards until he was standing in front of Thorin. "That's what you will bring upon us! Dragon fire and ruin. If you awaken that beast, it will destroy us all"

"You can listen to this naysayer but I promise you this : if we succeed, all will share in the wealth of the mountain" Thorin faced the inhabitants of the town once again. "You will have enough gold to rebuild Esgaroth ten times over!"

"All of you, listen to me! You must listen!" Bard's voice could hardly manage to cover the loud cheers of his people. "Have you forgotten what happened to Dale? Have you forgotten those who died in the firestorm?! And for what purpose? The blind ambition of a mountain king, so driven by greed he could not see beyond his own desire!"

This time, the men were arguing about the veracity of these facts. Some were obviously frightened by the idea of the dragon while others didn't seem to believe it.

"Enough, enough! We must not, any of us, be too quick to lay blame!" the master finally intervened. "Let us not forget that it was Girion, lord of Dale, your ancestor, who failed to kill the beast" he added, pointing a finger towards Bard. The dwarves turned in surprise towards the man…so that's why his son Bain had seemed to be so well-acquainted with Girion's story.

"It is true, sire. We all know the story. Arrow after arrow he shot, each one missing its mark" Alfrid said, enjoying the discomposure on Bard's face.

The bowman looked around him, obviously none of the inhabitants were ready to listen to him anymore. He locked eyes with Thorin and stepped towards him.

"You have no right" he whispered, "No right to enter that mountain"

"I have the only right" Thorin replied in the same low tone before turning towards the master again. "I speak to the master of the men of the lake. Will you see the prophecy fulfilled? Will you share in the great wealth of our people? What say you?"

"I say onto you…welcome! Welcome, king under the mountain!"

All cheered, including the dwarves, except for Luna who had spent the whole time carefully detailing Bard's face. He now seemed despaired and quickly turned his heels to walk away. She bit her lip, of course she should be happy about this alliance with the master of the town which meant they would get weapons, supplies and a safe way to cross the lake to the mountain, but something inside her was tickling her and she could hear a little voice inside her head telling her that Bard was right. He had been nice and helpful to them even though he had almost no reason of doing so…and they were about to thank him by unleashing a dragon on his home and family.

* * *

Drunk men disgustingly staring at every woman their eyes would land on, that's all Luna could see around her at the party that had been given in their honour in the town hall. For such an improvised event, she had been surprised to see how quickly everything had been set up for the night. Dozens of enormous barrels had been brought inside the big room, food had been served, music was being played and the whole town seemed to have come.

The party had now been going for a few hours and it was getting very late. The young girl sighed when she saw that most of the dwarves had drunk a bit too much. She wormed her way through the crowd to get to Thorin who she caught a glimpse of a bit further when a hand suddenly landed on her shoulder and drew her back.

"What do we have here? Such a tiny little woman, look at that" a man laughed. He stank of bah alcohol.

"Leave me alone" she said in a neutral yet firm voice.

"Heh, I know her…that's the child Bard brought with him yesterday, she was in the boat, I saw her!" another one exclaimed, almost losing his balance as he was pointing in her direction as if she was standing meters away from him.

"She's no child, she's a dwarf. A dwarf-woman" a third one rolled his eyes. "Didn't you see her with the others?"

"Aye, a pretty dwarf-woman" the first man smirked at her in a way that made her want to throw up. She tried to free herself from his grip but he caught her wrist, this time more violently. "No, don't leave us, we can have fun together, pretty thing"

"Let me go" she gritted between her teeth.

"Come on, love. It's not as if you weren't used to this, if you do it with dwarves, you can do it with men, we are not so different"

She froze at this. "What did you say?" she whispered. They were too drunk to take note of her icy tone and just laughed.

"Don't be shy, we aren't stupid, we know why a whole group of dwarves would want such a pretty thing as you to accompany them" the first man said in a tone of confidence.

"You keep them warm at night, don't you?" the third one smirked while the second one was even too drunk to say anything and instead just sat there smiling like an idiot.

Luna had already grabbed a dagger from her belt was she raised her arm to hit the man who was still holding her when someone else suddenly caught her arm to stop her move. Snapping her head around, she found Bard who shot her a warning glance before turning towards the three men.

"Ah, Bard, you want a taste of the lady as well, don't you?" the first one exclaimed but before he could even finish his sentence, the bowman had a blade pressed against his throat.

"Let her go" he muttered and so did the man, too frightened and drunk to answer the threat otherwise.

"Do as much as set your eyes on me again, filth, and I will rip you apart" Luna spat before Bard pulled her away.

He lead her through the crowd and out of the town hall where the coolness of the night made her shiver but at least, she was happy to be finally out of that room.

"Where you seriously planning on killing him like that in the middle of the party?" Bard eyed her warily.

"He basically called me a whore"

"I know. But that wouldn't have made things easier for you king, would it?"

She shrugged her shoulders. At that moment, she hadn't really cared about Thorin, another proof that she was definitely not suited for the role of captain. She should always think of her king's interests first.

"Why would you come and help me anyway?" she asked.

"I may not like what you plan to do but who would I be to leave you at the mercy of those three drunkards?"

"I don't need protection"

"No, but you need to be stopped from causing diplomatic catastrophes and regarding your job, I hope that kind of things don't happen too often"

"What are you talking about?"

"Please, can I stop pretending I don't know who you are now? I overhead the others referring to you as their captain even before I found out I had smuggled the company of Thorin Oakenshield into Laketown." he rolled his eyes. "Plus one doesn't need to be a fine detective to notice how you almost constantly keep an eye on him and the two young ones. You know…your fiancé and his brother" he added with a little wink.

"He's not my fiancé, can I stop pretending you believed that story?" it was her time to roll her eyes and she mimicked his voice when he had asked the same kind of question a few seconds earlier.

"I had never heard that Thorin Oakenshield had sons" he said pensively.

"He doesn't, they are his nephews"

Bard thoughtfully nodded. "And where are they now?"

"Kili's in bed, he did not want to go to the party, and Fili might still be in there, so is Thorin. If I were a good captain, I'd be with them as well"

"I doubt they risk much tonight. I actually think that you'd be more in danger if you went back inside than they are. Plus why stay at a party that you seem to hate so much?"

"I could ask you the same question"

"I was simply curious to see how many barrels of ale the master had kept hidden for himself all those years" Bard replied, shooting a dark look in the direction of the town hall. "Well then, I'm going home, my children wait for me. I am proud to say that they are the three most reasonable people I know in this town"

She nodded, she hadn't been here long but she already had a feeling that he was right.

"You should go too, nothing good will come from there" he added before turning his heels.

"Bard, wait" she called and he turned towards her again, shooting her a questioning glance. "Unfortunately I doubt the others will think of doing it as well but thank you for your help, in the name of the whole company…and thanks for tonight"

He vaguely waved her thanks away and walked off.

"They can't see it now but the people of Laketown need you" she said before he was too far to hear her. This time, he didn't turn around but just stopped walking. "Please be there for them then, because if you're not…no one will" she added and he finally looked behind his shoulder but she was already gone.


	22. Feelings unveiled

**Chapter XXI : Feelings unveiled **

Luna had woken up very early in the morning. Most of the dwarves were still asleep, snoring loudly after all the alcohol they had drunk at the party last night.

Thorin was up as well. He didn't look like he had slept much and she could understand why : today was Durin's day, the day they had been excepting and dreading for so long. She had to admit that she couldn't quite believe either that today was finally the day they would walk through the doors of Erebor. She felt excitement building up inside her but anxiety came at the same time at the thought of the dragon they would find there.

When almost everyone was up, she decided to wake Kili herself. She discovered him tangled in his sheets, frowning in his sleep as if he was having a nightmare but despite that, she found him beautiful. She had given up on pretending she could just see him as a friend ; every time she saw him, her heartbeat suddenly raced and she always feared that he might hear the precipitate beats it made.

"Kili" she called, gently squeezing his shoulder. "Kili, wake up"

He opened his eyes after a few seconds and she worried when the first thing she saw in his glance was pain. He quickly chased it away though, which wasn't too hard when waking up with a sight such as her.

"Come on, we are almost ready to go" she softly said. "Today is the day we reclaim Erebor"

He nodded and in a couple of minutes, they were dressed, packed and ready to go.

* * *

"Where's Bofur?"

"If he's not here, we leave him behind" Thorin coldly said.

"If we want to reach the doors by nightfall, we can risk no more delays" Balin nodded.

They were walking towards the boats that had been prepared for them to cross the lake and Bofur had not been seen since the party last night where he had gotten a bit too much to drink. All the inhabitants of Laketown were crowded on the docks to watch them go although most of them looked hungover. Unsurprisingly, Luna didn't catch any sign of Bard or his children.

The boats had already been packed with the weapons and supplies that had been given to them and the dwarves started getting in until Thorin suddenly blocked the way to Kili when the young dwarf was about to step in one of the boats as well.

"No, not you" he said. "We must travel at speed, you will slow us down"

Fili and Luna who were both already on the boat looked up, concern clear on their faces.

"What are you talking about?" Kili asked with a little smile, as if Thorin was telling him a joke, "I'm coming with you"

Only, his uncle didn't look like he was joking at all and he gravely looked at him when the young dwarf's smile faded.

"I want to be there when the doors open" he exclaimed, "When we first look upon our fathers' halls!"

"Kili", Thorin sighed, putting a hand on his nephew's shoulder and pulling him closer. "Stay here. Rest. You'll join us when you're healed"

He fatherly stroked the young dwarf's messy dark hair then turned towards the boats again while Kili stumbled towards a place to sit a bit further, his face paler than ever.

"I'm staying with the lad, my duty lies to the wounded" Oïn said, joining the young dwarf.

"Thorin, what are you doing?"

The dwarf turned towards the boat in which he found Luna staring at him with a harsh disapproving look on her face.

"You can't just leave him behind, he has been dreaming about this his whole life, he is your family!" she added.

"This is my duty as a king" he cooly replied, not appreciating to be put in questions.

"What about your duty as his uncle?"

"Luna" Kili tried to calm her down, sensing that anger was boiling inside her and fearing that she might do something stupid.

She didn't even spare him a look and kept her eyes determinately locked with his It almost looked as if they were in some sort of competition to know which one would shoot the other the deadliest glance.

"My duty lies to the company, you should know where yours is" Thorin icily said.

"Trust me, I know" she answered in the same tone and made a move to leave the boat but he caught her arm.

"Your duty is to take back Erebor" he said.

"That is my duty to my father!" she exploded, brutally freeing her arm from his grip. "That's what I promised him to do but he's dead, Thorin, do you understand? He is dead! And there is nothing you can do that will bring him back!"

She blinked several times so that the tears that were building up in her eyes didn't run down on her face.

"I promised him to help you reclaim your home, to both of you, that is true, and you have no idea how much I want to keep that promise…but I made another one, more important, a vow actually ; the vow that I would keep you and your family safe. This vow I made to you as my king, yes, but also to Fili and Kili and today, they need me to keep my word more than ever. I will keep my promise, Thorin, I swear…but before trying to please the dead, I will try to please those who are still lucky enough to be alive"

Her eyes left Thorin's for the first time and met Kili's that were expressing all his admiration and more than that, all his love. She could see it now, it was crystal clear, how could she have been so blind to not see it before? It was because she hadn't wanted to see it, she had been afraid. Was she still afraid now? Of course, even more than ever, but she couldn't bear to pretend everything was alright between them anymore.

"Besides…I have another duty to fulfil" she added more to herself than to Thorin.

"What duty is that?" he asked.

"A duty to my heart"

Once again, she made a move to leave the boat.

"If you step out of that boat, don't pretend to the title of captain anymore" he darkly warned her and that threat was welcomed by the outraged exclamations and disapproval looks of all the dwarves.

She looked up to meet his eyes again and it was no longer anger that he read in them but something closer to a sad indifference and even a bit of pity.

"I never pretended to that title, Thorin" she whispered and stepped back onto the docks then watched him defiantly for a short instant before walking towards Kili.

Thorin watched her, bewildered and was only brought back to reality by Fili's voice.

"Uncle, we grew up on tales of the mountain, tales you told us" the blonde dwarf vainly tried to reason him. "You can't take that away from him!"

"One day, you will be king and you will understand"

Fili blankly stared at his uncle then his eyes landed on his brother's pale face and on Luna kneeling next to him. He wondered with disgust what he was still doing on that boat and as he made a move to leave it, Thorin tried to stop him as well.

"Fili, don't be a fool, you belong to the company"

The young prince freed himself and shot him an angry look.

"I belong with my brother" he said then walked to Kili in his turn.

Luna didn't even listen to the short speech the master made and looked in disgust at the musicians playing a cheerful air as the boats departed and the whole town cheered and waved the dwarves goodbye. She saw Balin nod his approval at her from the boat and Dwalin made her understand that he would keep an eye on Thorin.

"Fee…Luna…you have to go…" Kili muttered.

"We are not going anywhere without you, brother, especially not to Erebor" the blonde dwarf replied.

"Luna…"

She knelt in front of him and took his hands. The glance they exchanged then was one of love at last. He raised a hand as if to cup her face but suddenly, he fell forward with a moan of pain.

"Kili!"

All three dwarves around him ; Fili, Luna and Oïn reached at the same time to hold him before he could fall.

Bofur arrived on the docks at that moment, bright red as if he had been running. He saw that the boats were already gone and cursed before looking around him and seeing the four dwarves a bit further.

"Ah, you missed the boat as well ?" he asked, astonished.

* * *

Bard opened the door when Bofur knocked and he looked in surprise at the dwarves standing before him then shot them a dark look.

"No" he said. "I'm done with dwarves. Go away"

He tried to close the door but Bofur held it.

"No, no, no, please! No one will help us!" the dwarf pleaded. "Kili's sick!"

Bard's eyes landed on the dark-haired dwarf who was leaning against his brother with a feverish look on his face.

"He's very sick" Bofur insisted.

"Please, Bard" Luna pleaded and it is only when he saw the worry and despair in her eyes that he opened the door to let them in.

* * *

Kili had been laid down on the table and was now having a very hard time trying to keep from screaming in pain. Fili was trying to calm him down and to keep him still on the table with Luna while Oïn was going through the supplies in the house with Bard, trying to find something to appease the young dwarf.

"Can you not do something?" Fili exclaimed.

"I need to find something to bring down his fever"

Bard was detailing to the healer all the herbs he had in stock.

"They are no use to me" the old dwarf sighed, "I will need king's foil!"

"No, it's weed. We feed it to the pigs"

"Pigs? Weed? Right" Bofur repeated then turned to Kili. "Don't move!" he told him then ran out of the house.

Kili cried out in pain once again and Luna gently took his face in her hands.

"Ssh, Bofur will bring back some king's foil, you'll be fine" she whispered to him but she wasn't even sure he had heard her.

Fili looked at her hands cupping his brother's pale face. They were shaking. He had known that she was in love with him as well but only now could he see how much.

They all suddenly looked up when everything around them shook for an instant and a bit of dust fell from the ceiling. Bard's three children turned towards him.

"Da?"

"It's coming from the mountain!"

Luna and Fili exchanged a worried look then the young dwarf turned towards Bard.

"You should leave us" he said. "Take your children, get out of here"

"And go where? There is nowhere to go"

"Are we going to die, Da?" Tilda asked.

"No, darling"

"The dragon, it's going to kill us"

The bowman bit his lip then looked up and grabbed something that was hanging from the ceiling. They all widened their eyes when they saw that it was a black arrow.

"Not if I kill it first"

And he left the house as well.

Fili turned towards his brother again and he saw that Luna's face was getting almost as pale as his. He squeezed her shoulder.

"Hey" he whispered. "Bofur will be back any minute. He will be fine" he tried to reassure her but could it really work when he himself wasn't convinced?

* * *

Time passed, and although it was probably no more than an hour since Bofur had left, it felt like an eternity to Luna who kept on trying to calm Kili.

They all startled when Sigrid who had gone on the balcony to see if her father was coming back suddenly raced back inside with a scream and tried to bang the door shut before an orc could come in. The only sound that had been heard until then had been Kili's moans and cries of pain, now it was covered by the tumult of the battle that started inside the house between the dwarves and the orcs that came from everywhere, breaking the windows, the ceiling and the door.

"_Kill them all!_" growled a voice in black speech and Luna, widening her eyes in horror, saw Bolg coming inside.

"Stay with him!" Fili commanded, pointing at his brother then threw himself at an orc who had tried to kill Sigrid.

Luna looked around her, they were three to be able to fight but they had no weapon and the orcs largely outnumbered them. Kili was dying on the table and the three children were holding onto each other, hiding under another table. The situation was terrible.

"Luna…" came Kili's broken voice.

"Hush, stay still" she whispered.

At that moment, an orc broke the ceiling and landed in front of her. She ducked to avoid his blow and when she saw that he was leaping towards Kili, anger flashed through her and she kicked him so violently that he fell to the ground, knocked out by the force of her blow.

"Don't even try" she hissed then she saw another one coming towards her and grabbed the unconscious orc's blade to fight him back. Another orc came to help him and she found herself trying to push them both back. Neither Fili nor Oïn could come and help her : they were way too busy fighting their own opponents and trying to keep Bard's children safe.

Her heart missed a beat when she heard Kili's cry and snapping her head back, she saw that an enemy was attacking him and that he had fell from the table.

With a shout of rage, she killed both her opponents then threw herself at the orc and his head fell to the ground before he had even had the time to see her coming.

"Kili!" she dropped on her knees next to him.

"Look out!" he shouted and she ducked just in time to avoid being beheaded by another orc who had slashed his blade towards her.

She swiftly spun around and kicked his legs underneath him, causing to fall and, not losing anytime, she plunged her sword into his chest.

"_Kill the girl!_" came Bolg's voice.

"Luna, run!" Fili yelled from the other side of the room as four orcs were running towards the young girl.

"No way" she muttered, jumping to her feet.

She threw a kitchen knife that she had found on the ground at one of the orc who got hit straight in the head then when the second one came in front of her, she stepped aside to avoid his axe and kicked him as hard as she could between the legs before pushing him with her feet in the way of the third one. She managed to avoid the blow of the fourth one but not enough to avoid being wounded and she hissed in pain when his black blade slashed at her arm.

She tried to fight him back when something suddenly got hold of her neck. It was the very first orc that had attacked her and that she had knocked unconscious. She had not thought he would wake up so soon and now he was tightening his fist around her throat, causing her to choke.

"Luna!" she heard Kili shout. The young dwarf managed to get hold of a little knife on the ground next to him and planted it in the orc's leg. He yelled in pain and dropped the young girl who fell at his feet, panting for breaths.

She met Kili's eyes and they reached for each other. The young dwarf pulled her against him and held her tightly as if he could prevent the orcs from getting to her that way.

It was vain of course : he yelled in pain when an orc hit his already wounded leg and his strengths abandoning him, he could do nothing when they violently took Luna from his arms.

"No! Luna!" he shouted. His own vision was blurring because of the pain and he felt that he had been fighting against his fever for too long now.

"Kili!" she shouted back and tried to fight against the orc's iron grip but it was useless.

She was forced down on her knees and someone brutally grabbed her hair to pull her head backwards and bare her throat. She locked eyes with Bolg who was giving her an evil smirk and she shot him his darkest glance but with two orcs holding her down plus him ready to take her head, she was completely unable to move.

The whole room was shifting under Kili and he could barely distinguish the shape of Luna, held on her knees before the same gigantic orc that had shot him on the bridge a few days ago. He opened his mouth to yell her name when he saw him raised his blade and bring it down towards the young girl's throat then darkness enveloped him and there was nothing more than pain.

Luna didn't close her eyes when she saw Bolg's blade coming down towards her bared throat. She wouldn't die showing them fear. She felt the cold blade touching her skin and cutting through the flesh and then suddenly, in less than a second, she saw something like a flash hitting the orc who was cutting her throat and a green silhouette killing the two who were holding her and she fell to the ground, not able to move nor see anything.

* * *

She thought she could hear less fighting noises but knew she hadn't blacked out for more than a few seconds. She tried to open her eyes but pain flashed from her throat and spread to her whole body, blurring her vision.

"Luna!" she heard and felt someone dropping to his knees besides her. "Oh no, Luna!"

Shaking hands turned her over then someone put his hand on her forehead.

"She's alive" came another voice that wasn't unknown to her but not as familiar. "Bring her to that table"

She finally managed to open her eyes and saw Fili and, to her surprise, Legolas, kneeling above her.

"Oh, Mahal, you're alive" the dwarf sighed, bringing her hand to his lips and kissing her knuckles. He scooped her up into his arms and walked with her towards a table on which he laid her down.

"Fili" she whispered.

"Hush, do not talk, you'll be alright"

"Kili?"

"He will be fine, the other elf is taking care of him"

The other elf? Turning her head as much as she could without hurting her neck any more, she caught a glimpse of another tall silhouette with long red hair ; Tauriel. Obviously, the elves had arrived just in time and helped the dwarves push the orcs back.

"The orcs…"

"They're gone, I said do not talk, you are hurt"

Oïn and Bofur were there as well and the healer quickly started to clean her wounds, helped by Legolas.

"I'm fine" she mumbled, trying to push the hands away but Fili firmly grabbed her forearms and frowned at her.

"No, you're not, stubborn young lady!" he angrily exclaimed. "Your throat is almost entirely cut open and you are covered in blood, in your blood. You will die within a few minutes if you don't let that elf heal you and I will not let you die, I don't want to have to answer Kili once he will have woken up and will be asking for you that you are dead. Please, Luna…"

She couldn't reply to that, especially after the two last words he had said. She had sensed despair in his voice, he had talked about Kili but knew he didn't want to lose her either.  
She stopped moving and let the elf lean over her again. Legolas put some athelas on her throat and she felt the pain was so relieved at once that she sighed. He then let Oïn bandage the wound and took care of the other minor injuries she had gotten.

"How do you feel, lass?" Oïn asked once they were done.

"Terrific" she muttered.

"Those orcs…why did they want to kill you so badly?" Legolas asked.

"They are orcs, they always want to kill us" she vaguely replied, shrugging her shoulders while Fili was helping her into a sitting position.

"Still they seem to put in a lot of effort to kill you in particular" he raised an eyebrow.

"They are after her because she is our captain, Laïn's last heir and that they swore to wipe out her line" Fili answered when he saw that she remained silent.

"Fili" she gaped at him.

"I owe my brother and sister's lives to these elves, I think we can at least answer their questions now"

"Your sister?" the elf repeated. "Didn't you just say that she was Laïn's daughter?"

"She is, but to me she will always be my sister as much as Kili is my brother"

"Fili" she whispered. He squeezed her knee and kissed her forehead.

"My stubborn, reckless sister who should listen when she is told to run because the orcs are here to kill her"

"A captain doesn't run away from a fight"

"Indeed it seems not" he sighed and she chuckled.

"You should lie down, lass, you lost a lot of blood" Bofur gently said and whether she wanted it or not, Fili made a move to lay her down again but he suddenly stopped what he was doing when they heard Kili slightly waking up on the other side of the room.

Tauriel was done taking the poison away from his blood and was just finishing bandaging his leg. He flickered his eyes open and saw her.

"You saved me" he mumbled so low that they barely heard him.

"Yes" Tauriel answered.

"You…you shouldn't have" he continued in the same almost inaudible tone. His thoughts seemed confused, he was only half-awake and struggling not to fall asleep. "What is the point of living if…if it's not to be with her?"

The elf looked a bit confused then shot a quick glance in the direction of Luna.

"They…they killed her those monsters…I saw them" a tear left Kili's eye. "Cowards…they were twice her size and yet they had to be three to kill her after she had already been wounded…and now she's dead"

His voice was now only a murmur but in the complete silence that had fallen on all of them, they could all hear it.

"I wish…I wish she had lived…then I would have told her how much I love her, no matter…no matter what she thinks or what the others think but now,…now it's too late, she is far, far away from me. She walks in starlight in another world. Can you…can you see her eyes light up with a thousand stars when she smiles?"

Fili was staring at his brother, completely bewildered by what was happening. He turned to Luna who was still sitting on the table next to him and saw tears trailing down her face. Luna never cried, even after her brother and her father had died, he had never seen her cry, although he knew of course that at the time, it had partly because she had always waited for the times when there was no one to see her to cry, so he was even more shocked to see those tears on her face.

"Do you think she could have loved me?" Kili asked Tauriel in a murmur.

"Fili, take her to the lad" Oïn said, wiping a tear away from the corner of his eye.

The young prince didn't have to be told twice and he carefully scooped Luna in his arms to bring her to the table on which Kili was lying.

"I think she could" Tauriel whispered.

"Come on brother, look who I have here for you"

Kili turned his face when he heard his brother's voice and he laid still for a few seconds when he saw Luna who Fili had carried to the table.

The tears he had been trying to hold back finally left his eyes and he held out his hand to her then closed his arms around her when she snuggled against him, hiding her face against his torso.

"Let's leave them alone" Bofur suggested and they all left the room.

"Tauriel, let's go now" Legolas said as soon as they were outside. "We need to find out where those orcs went"

She nodded and Fili turned to them.

"Thank you" he said with the most sincerity he could. "Thank you so much for what you did"

Tauriel offered him a smile.

"Where do you think you'll find the orcs?" Bofur asked.

"I don't know, but they left towards the North" Legolas said. "We'll trace their way"

"How about you, what will you do now?" Tauriel asked.

Fili's eyes landed on the looming shape of the lonely mountain. Now that the fight was over and that he wasn't worried anymore about the life of his brother, he recalled the mini earthquake that had happened earlier in the evening. He bit his lip, wondering what had happened inside that mountain and not daring to think of something bad.

"Now we go to Erebor and hope the others are still alive" he said.


	23. The burning of Laketown

_**There we are, beginning of the last movie already! I went on so quickly! As always, thanks for those who favourited/followed and reviewed, I always love to read those reviews, thanks for your support. Let me know what you think of this chapter and as ever, enjoy!**_

* * *

**Chapter XXII : The burning of Laketown **

Kili's last strengths had finally left him almost as soon as he had closed his arms around Luna and he had fallen into a deep sleep. The young girl hadn't moved from where she was and she wouldn't have for all the gold in Erebor. Lying against him, her head resting on his chest and his arms that even in sleep, kept her close to him, was everything she could wish for right now.

She watched his face slowly getting its colours back in the vacillating light of a candle and slowly moved her arm to gently pull a strand of his hair away from his face. The others did not come back inside for all the time he was asleep and she was grateful for that. It might sound selfish, but she didn't want anyone right now to come and break the tranquility of this moment. She put her head back on his chest and closed her eyes, listening to his heartbeat and letting the steady rise and fall of his chest appease her.

Thorin and the rest of the company had probably reached Erebor a few hours ago and thus found the dragon, Bolg and his troops had found and attacked them here in Laketown, she had once more escaped from death just in time but all she could think of was that Kili loved her. The words he had said to Tauriel in his half-conscious state had had the effect of a shockwave on her. She had never thought before that he actually loved her. Yes, he had kissed her that night at Beorn's but she had persuaded herself that it was because she had somehow managed to trick him into thinking that he fancied her, nothing more.

But what he said, the despair in his voice and the sincerity of his words…he did love her after all and she loved him more than anything. She should probably have been weighting the pros and cons of a relationship between them and admit that as a prince and a captain of Erebor, they shouldn't listen to their feelings. She should have been leaving his arms while he was still asleep and try to convince herself that what he had said, he had said under the influence of his fever and if he asked her, told him that it was impossible but she couldn't. Right now, she couldn't and she doubted that if she couldn't leave his arms now, she wouldn't be able to do it anymore later.

Oh, after all, why was she even worrying about that now? They hadn't even reached the mountain and if they did, they did not know what they would find. And it's not as if the others, especially Thorin, hadn't understood what was going on between the two of them. She had basically admitted in front of the whole company that she loved him when she had left the boat to stay with him, and thus faced Thorin's threat of losing her title of captain.

She wondered for a few seconds what her father would say if he could see her now. By what she had done, she had broken at least half a dozen of all the fundamental rules he had taught her and she wasn't even sure that Thorin would take her as his captain anymore. According that he was still alive of course…and if he wasn't, she would have miserably failed her mission but at the same time, if she had gone with him, Kili might have been the one who would have died.

She shook her head to chase these thoughts away and suddenly felt Kili's hand gently stroking her hair. Looking up, she only noticed then that he was awake and looking at her with a little smile.

"Hey" she whispered.

"Hey"

She had a little moment of panic, suddenly wondering whether he remembered what had happened earlier and almost expected him to question the fact that she was laying against him but a look in his eyes eased all her doubts.

"I thought…I thought they had killed you" he murmured.

"It takes more than a bunch of orcs to get rid of me"

He chuckled then his face became serious again and he raised himself into a sitting position to be able to look at her in the eyes while they talked.

She imitated him but shot him a little worried glance.

"You should probably lie down" she whispered but he shook his head.

"I'm fine…Luna, I need to know…"

She watched him expectantly.

"What you said to Thorin…about a duty to your heart…was it true?" he asked

She had never seen him so serious and lacking of confidence in himself. He almost looked as if a word from her could hurt him more than any poisoned arrow ever would.

She swallowed nervously, fully aware that she was blushing.

"Yes" she said after a short pause then she sighed. She couldn't hide her feelings anymore and it was far time that they had a serious conversation. "Kili, I know that this is going to sound crazy but trust me, I have turned the situation around and around in my head for weeks now and…"

She sighed again and took his hands in hers.

"I love you, Kili, more than I could ever love anyone. When I first realised it a couple of weeks ago, I tried to convince myself that it wasn't true but it was in vain. The more I tried to tell myself that it was wrong, the more I loved you. People always ask me how I survived the walk from the hidden valley to your house on my own after the orcs killed my family and I usually tell them that I don't know and that it was probably luck, which is partly true, but not entirely. I could do it because of you. It is you I was thinking of all the way and after that, when I woke up at your house, I recovered thanks to you, because you were there, always by my side and that I knew I was safe when you were there. I still do, I know it should be the opposite, you should be the one feeling safe when I'm around, but believe me when I say that whenever you're nearby, nothing can scare me…nothing but the thought of losing you"

"Luna" Kili sighed, squeezing her hands. "You can not lose me, not if you keep on being such an extraordinary captain. I am the one who is always afraid to lose you and you can't deny I don't have my reasons to fear it. Ever since you came to us on that cold winter night, almost a year ago already, I never stopped fearing for your life! First, when you arrived and that you were more dead than alive…it took you two weeks to just wake up and I don't doubt Fili already made sure to tell you, but I sat besides your bed every night to look after you and wait for you to open your eyes. Then we started this quest and, I know you do it to protect us, don't get me wrong, but it seems that you have put yourself in every possible danger we came across. You…you basically jumped from trees on trolls, you pushed us into safety and stayed behind to face a whole orc pack on your own, you were almost crashed on a mountain which you almost fell from afterwards, you barely escaped when a goblin tried to behead you, then you threw yourself at Azog without so much as thinking about the consequences, you could have been eaten alive by a spider, you almost drowned and now almost got killed by orcs again"

"Yeah…it does sound a bit bad when you put it that way"

"The point is, you say that you are scared of losing me, but can you imagine how I felt during all those times? How I feel everyday when I see you putting yourself between me and a danger? I know it's your job, we have already had this conversation and I won't come back with it…but now that you know how much I love you, do you realise how terrible I feel when I have to let you take a blow in my place?"

He paused for a few seconds, just looking at her and she bit her lip. Yes, she could definitely understand how he was feeling.

"I think…that this is partly why a captain and a member from the royal family shouldn't share more than friendship" she sighed and his face suddenly showed fear.

"Does that mean you…?" he started but she determinately shook her head.

"No, of course not. It's too late to deny that I love you anyway. Can I tell you a secret?"

He nodded.

"I am scared, Kili. Not of the orcs, not even of the dragon, I am scared of how much I love you…I don't know what would happen if we tried this out"

He suddenly cupped her face and touched her forehead with his. She closed her eyes.

"Truth is, I am terrified as well" he muttered, "and I have no idea what might happen either. But one thing I know for certain is that you are my everything, my One, and that together, we are stronger than anything. If you are ready, then I am ready to try this out and I promise you that my love for you will have no boundary. If you are not, then a word from you will silence me forever. What do you say?"

For all answer, Luna closed the distance between them and quickly and softly, gave him a little kiss on the lips, filled with all her fears and all her dreams.

"I say we do it together, and rock it as usual" she whispered and he chuckled before pulling her towards him and kissing her for real this time.

Their first kiss, at Beorn's house, had been extraordinary and had left both of them with a sensation they weren't ready to forget but this one…this one was exceptional beyond measure. They were gentle and slow at first then their kiss grew more passionate and a low moan came from the back of Kili's throat when the young girl tangled her fingers in his hair. He pulled her even closer to him and his hands made their way down her back to rest on her waist. Like at Beorn's house, she tasted of honey and wild berries and of that strange thing that reminded him of a warm summer night, except that this time, it was a thousand times better.

Luna felt like her heart was exploding inside her chest and she knew that right now, everything was in its right place.

None of them knew how much time passed before they finally parted and when they did, Luna abandoned herself in his warm hug and he held her close to him, breathing the sweet perfume of her hair while she buried her face in his neck.

They stayed like that for a few seconds, panting for breaths.

"Well…this was a pretty good start" Kili muttered, his heart still racing and she chuckled.

"I agree" she said with a soft smile.

He took her face in his hands and softly kissed her lips until they suddenly parted when they heard someone clearing his voice on the other side of the room.

Spinning around, they discovered Fili, Bofur, Oïn and Bard's three children watching them with huge grins on their faces.

"Please, let us know if we are disturbing" Fili smirked at them.

They both turned bright red but they kept holding hands. There was no point in trying to hide their feelings anymore.

"How long have you been standing there?" Kili asked his brother, raising an eyebrow.

"Long enough" he replied, his smile growing wider then he walked towards them. "So you two finally found out that you both love each other?"

"It was about time!" Bofur exclaimed. "You were the only two in the company who didn't know yet"

That made Luna chuckle.

"I'm happy for you" Fili said, a bit more seriously, putting his hands on their shoulders. "For both of you"

His brother warmly squeezed his arm with a smile.

"How do you feel lad?" Oïn asked Kili, coming back to a more serious subject.

"I'm alright. That elvish medicine works wonders"

"For a moment, I thought I'd lost the two of you" Fili bit his lip.

"But you didn't" Luna replied and the blonde dwarf nodded before pulling them both into a big brotherly hug.

"Bain…" came Tilda's voice.

They turned towards her. She had walked to a window and was obviously staring in horror at something outside.

"I don't mean to interrupt this very sweet moment but I think we are in big, big troubles!" she exclaimed.

"How big?" Bain asked with a concerned look on his face.

"Like…dragon-big" came the little girl's terrified answer.

"What?!" Luna exclaimed, jumping to her feet.

At that moment, a terrible roar made the ground shake underneath their feet and they stared at each other in horror.

* * *

"Let's get out of here" Fili muttered, rushing everyone in the house and they all heard the alarm bells of the town starting to ring everywhere in the streets. "Everyone, out!"

In a matter of seconds, they were gathering their few things and getting ready to leave.

Luna ran out of the house to look up in the night sky and gasped when she saw the distant shape of the dragon flying towards Laketown. The inhabitants were starting to get out of their houses, woken up by the bells and fear was slowly creeping up on them as they understood what was going on. Already, boats were leaving the docks, carrying families and the few supplies they had had the time to assemble.

"We're not leaving, not without our father!" Bard firmly declared.

"If you stay here, your sisters will die" Fili gloomily replied while pulling his brother up onto his feet, "is that what your father would want?"

Bain shot him a hard look.

"Come" Sigrid pressed him, helping Tilda to put on her coat.

By the time they reached the little boat attached to the dock in front of the house, it was already hard to make their way through the waters due to all the people trying to flee the town by boat as well. In only a couple of minutes, panic had ceased the inhabitants of the town who were running in the streets and shouting in a big chaos.

Luna looked up and saw the dark shape of the dragon flying over the town, ready to burn it down. She met Fili's eyes and they exchanged a terrified glance. They had to get out of here as quickly as possible.

Tilda screamed when Smaug reappeared from the clouds, its belly glowing orange and suddenly, fire came from its mouth and in a few seconds, the town was set alight.

Luna threw herself towards Bain who was closest to her and covered him when the fire passed above them. When she looked up then, all the houses around them were burning and people were screaming everywhere. She saw someone jump from a window into the water and a child cry for his mother who had pushed him outside of their house just in time but hadn't had the time to escape from it herself.

Smaug came down a few more times and soon, the whole town was burning. All of them, children and dwarves alike, looked in horror at the bodies already laying down on the docks, being walked on by those who were still alive and terrified beyond measure. At some point, they bumped onto another, larger boat carrying piles of gold and Luna looked in disgust at the master who was trying to escape with his wealth and didn't care for his people.

The young girl suddenly snapped her head back when Tilda gasped.

"Da!" she screamed.

Following the child's glance, they all saw Bard standing at the top of a tall tower, trying to fire arrows at the dragon every time it came close enough.

"He hit it!" Kili suddenly exclaimed. "He hit the dragon!"

"No…" Luna whispered.

"He did!" the dwarf insisted. "He hit his mark, I saw!"

"His arrows can not pierce his tide" the young girl sadly shook her head. "I fear nothing will"

Bain's face seemed to discompose when he heard her. He turned his glance towards his father again but his eyes suddenly caught glimpse of something on a boat that was still tied to a dock at the foot of a statue.

His eyes widened and before anyone could do anything, he jumped out of the boat.

"Bain!"

"What are you doing? Come back!"

Luna had been trained to act quickly in such situations and before the others were even able to try and catch him, she jumped out of the boat as well and ran after him, ignoring the dwarves' shouts in her back.

"Luna!" Kili yelled, trying to follow her as well but Bofur strongly held him back.

"No, don't! She knows what she's doing!"

"Wait! We must wait for them!"

"We can't go back!" Oïn exclaimed.

Kili's face was discomposed when he met Fili's eyes that were filled with worry.

"We need to get out of here" the blonde dwarf said, ignoring the hurt in his brother's eyes.

"But…Luna…"

"Bain!" Tilda cried once more.

"They will find their way and will join us soon enough" the dwarf tried to reassure them.

* * *

"What the hell are you doing?!" Luna exclaimed when she finally caught up with Bain.

He freed himself from her grip and bent down to pick up a parcel from the abandoned boat he had ran to. The young girl's eyes widened when she saw that it was a black arrow, the only thing that would be able to put the dragon down.

"Da won't be able to kill the dragon without this" the boy said and she slowly nodded.

"Come on then, there is no time to lose!" and they raced towards the tower Bard had climbed.

By the time they reached the top, the bowman had ran out of arrows. He widened his eyes when he saw his son and Luna.

"Bain! What are you doing?!" he exclaimed. "Why didn't you leave?! You were supposed to leave!"

"I came to help you!"

"No! Nothing can stop it now!"

"This might" the boy said, holding out the black arrow to his father.

Bard took it and despite everything, looked prouder than ever of his son.

"Bain…you go back, you get out of here, now" he then turned towards Luna. "Please, stay with him, make sure he's safe"

She nodded and was about to say something but she suddenly saw the dragon leaping towards their tower.

"Look out!" she shouted and the beast's back paws destroyed the top of the wooden structure when it came flying towards it.

She grabbed the young boy and pushed him in his father's arms on top of the little platform then closed her eyes as wood fell on them and she held on to the edge of the platform, her feet balancing in the emptiness under her.

"Hang on!" Bard exclaimed and he quickly pulled her onto the platform as well.

They looked at the ruins in flame around them, panting for breaths then Bard cursed under his breath when he saw that his bow was broken in two. Luna's attention was drawn by a whole other thing than the bow though when she saw that the dragon had aimed their tower in purpose. It landed a bit further, destroying the burning houses around him and turned its massive head towards them, sniffing around it as if it was catching a scent that it remembered.

"I thought this was a town of men…yet I smell dwarves again" came its deep, earth-shaking voice. "And...yes...I recall that scent"

Luna felt a shrill running down her spine when the dragon's orange eyes landed on her and seemed to detail her features, stopping a bit longer on the scar on her cheek.

"You were but a newborn when last we met, daughter of Laïn"

For a moment, the young girl's blood froze in her veins.

"Luna" Bard put his hand on her shoulder and she looked up at him. Bain, besides him, looked more terrified than she had ever seen anyone in her life. "It knows you?" the man asked her, bewildered.

"I was born the day it settled in Erebor, this scar it left me" she said. "You need to take it down"

"But I will only have one shot, I need to make sure it won't fly away again"

"I'll divert him"

Bard raised an eyebrow at her but nodded, what choice did he have? He quickly built himself a makeshift bow with the string from his longbow and two wooden pillars that still stood there and asked Bain to stand between the pillars, facing him so that he could position the black arrow on his shoulder and aim at the dragon.

"Who are you to stand against me?" the beast turned its attention on the man.

"Smaug!"

The orange eyes turned towards the young girl again. While Bard was improvising his new bow, she had quickly climbed down the tower until she was low enough to jump on a nearby roof that had been spared by the flames enough to remain stable.

"What are you doing, little dwarf?" Smaug asked, bending down his long neck to take a closer look at her. "Are you not afraid of me? Have you never been told where that scar of yours comes from?"

"Yes, I have, but I think that if you missed a newborn baby then, you will hardly be able to kill me now"

She did not believe a word of it, of course, but she had to keep its focus on her while Bard was aiming the black arrow at him and from what she knew about dragons, hurting their pride was one of the best ways to get their attention, not mentioning their anger. She recalled the discussion she had had with Kili a few hours earlier about how she was always putting herself in all sorts of danger and thought at that moment that if the dragon did not kill her, the young dwarf probably would.

It seemed to work though because Smaug narrowed its eyes and tightened its claws so hard on a house that it collapsed.

"Do you know who you are talking to, fool?" it asked, its voice like thunder. "I will end your miserable life just like I ended your mother's in fire!"

"You killed a woman who was giving birth! Are you proud of that too?"

"Burn!"

The dragon's roar sent vibrations through her whole body and she threw herself just in time on the other side of the roof when it suddenly spat huge flames towards her.

She looked up and raised her arms in a vain attempt to protect herself when Smaug launched itself towards her and from the corner of her eyes, she saw Bard fire the arrow.

It all happened very quickly, in only a couple of seconds, but from the way the fire the dragon had been about to spit out suddenly died in its mouth and the way it roared in pain, deviating from its trajectory, Luna knew the bowman had hit his mark.

She opened her mouth to scream when the huge beast crashed onto the house she had been standing on but no sound left her lips and she closed her eyes when she was ejected into the air with debris of burning wood all around her. She thought she could hear the agonising roars of the dragon somewhere above her before she crashed into the icy waters and all at once, there was nothing but darkness.

* * *

Bard stopped breathing for a few seconds when he fired the black arrow. He watched it fly into the air and embed itself into the dragon's flesh, on the exact spot where it was missing a scale.

He watched, unable to move, as Smaug stumbled, destroyed the house Luna had been standing on then raised high into the air, his agonising roars echoing everywhere on the lake.

He only came back to reality when the shape of the dragon's dead body fell back towards the town.

"Hold on!" he yelled, grabbing his son and pulling him against him to try and shelter him.

The dragon did not fall on top of them but close enough to have the tower destroyed by its massive tail and both Bard and his son fell into the air to land brutally on a dock a bit further.

The bowman raised himself into a sitting position at once and a sigh of relief escaped him when he saw that his son was alright as well.

"Da! We did it! It's dead!"

He nodded and hugged him tightly until a house collapsed a few blocks further and they came back to reality, remembering that Laketown was still burning and that they now probably were the only living inhabitants who hadn't left it yet.

"Let's go!" Bard exclaimed, jumping to his feet and taking his son's hand.

"Wait, where is Luna?"

Bard looked around him. There was no sign of the young girl. He remembered seeing her being ejected from the roof when it had been destroyed, along with huge pieces of wood that could have easily killed her when ejected with such force.

"We need to find her!" Bain insisted and he nodded.

They both started running on the docks and calling her name, trying to avoid the flames that were consuming the town at the same time.

After a good ten minutes though, the situation was getting worse and they couldn't afford to stay any longer.

"We need to go" Bard said, sorrow in his voice. If they hadn't found the young girl by now, he doubted she would ever be found again. Plus he had seen her fall and although it saddened him, the chances that anyone survived such a fall were very low.

"But…"

"Come on, son"

He saw grief in his son's eyes but the boy followed him to one of the last boats that had not been either used or destroyed and they started making their way out of the town.

"Da, look!" Bain suddenly exclaimed, pointing at something floating in the water as Bard was paddling.

He reached out and grabbed the little piece of clothing that had been floating there. Bard's eyes widened when he recognised it. It came from a dress that Tilda had owned and that she had given to Luna when the dwarves had taken refugee in their house.

He took it from Bain's hands, there could be no mistake, he recognised it even though it was half burnt and covered in traces blood that the water hadn't managed to wash away.

"Da, is she…?" Bain couldn't finish his phrase and his father put a hand on his shoulder and gave him a small, grave nod.

Without that young girl, he probably would never have been able to kill the dragon. She owned him nothing, she had paid him along with the others for the help he had given them, yet she had just given her life so that he and his son would live.


	24. Grief and sorrow

**_Hey everyone! First of all, thanks for all the reviews, I am so sorry for how I ended the last chapter, it was a bit mean but I must confess...I loved leaving you on a cliff-hanger haha I'm sorry! Hopefully this chapter will be better! As always, let me know what you think and enjoy :)  
_**

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**Chapter XXIII : Grief and sorrow**

As soon as their boat reached the shore of the lake on which the survivors of Laketown were gathering, Kili jumped out of it and started looking everywhere for Luna, calling her name and hoping to see a flash of ginger curls in the chaos.

Sigrid and Tilda were doing the same, looking for their father and brother. Those who had not been lucky enough to cross the lake in a boat had swam and were crawling onto dry land, exhausted and shivering. The men and women who were better quickly started helping out the less fortunate, handing out blankets and consoling all those who had lost a relative or a friend.

Suddenly, Kili caught a flash of red hair in the corner of his eyes and raced towards its owner but when he saw who it belonged to, he was at the same time surprised and disappointed.

"What are you doing here?" Fili asked, arriving after his brother and seeing Tauriel and Legolas amongst the survivors.

"We had barely reached the shores of the lake when we saw the dragon attacking Laketown" Tauriel replied.

"We saw it die, what happened?" Legolas asked.

"We think it was Bard, he shot it" Fili answered.

"Luna was with him, have you seen her?" Kili asked in a pleading voice.

"No, sorry"

"She can't be far, Kee, we'll find her" Fili placed a comforting hand on his brother's shoulder.

"Da!" Tilda suddenly yelled and they snapped their heads back to see the two girls run straight into their father's arms.

"Come here!" Bard exclaimed, hugging them tightly, emotion clear on his face "It's alright"

"It was Bard, he killed the dragon, I saw it with my own eyes! He brought the beast down!" a man exclaimed, stepping forward from the crowd that had assembled around the little family "He shot it dead with a black arrow!"

The people that had gathered around him started cheering and shouting their thanks to Bard who looked uneasy.

Kili pushed his way past the men to reach him.

"Luna! Where is she?!" he gaped at him.

The others had also made their way to the bowman and he looked at them with sorrow in his eyes. Kili felt his heart tighten in his chest when the man did not answer at once and sighed.

"Where is she?" he repeated in a whisper.

Fili's face discomposed when he saw the tears building up in Bain's eyes.

"She gave her life to kill the dragon" Bard softly said.

He took from his pocket the little piece of clothing that came from the dress the young girl had been wearing and gave it to Kili.

The young dwarf suddenly felt as if everything around him had stopped. He looked at the cloth, his hands shaking. That was impossible.

"I'm sorry" Bard said.

"No!"

"Kili…"

"No! That's not true! She is alive, she is still over there, we have to…"

"Kili!"

Fili grabbed his brother by the shoulders. The crowd was starting to call for Bard again, they couldn't stay here. He met the bowman's eyes one last time and they exchanged a nod then he pulled his brother away from the survivors of Laketown.

"We have to go back! She is still over there, she is…"

"Kili…it's over" Fili said, tears building up in his eyes.

His brother looked at him in despair. Fili should be telling him that he was right, that Luna was alive and that they were going to find her. He should have reassured him, tell him that everything was going to be alright but he didn't. Grief was plain on his face and slowly, a tear ran down from his eye.

"Fili…"

Kili fell on his knees, his arms tightly folded around his chest as if to keep it from falling apart. A sudden pain had awoken in his heart and was torturing him, he wanted to yell out his grief to the world but he couldn't. His whole world was collapsing around him. He barely felt Fili kneeling in front of him and pulling him in a tight hug.

Bofur and Oïn were standing next to them, both with tears on their faces, looking in silence at the smoking ruins of the town in the distance. Bofur slowly reached up and took his hat off for the very first time in ages.

"She can't be…she can't be dead" Kili gasped between two sobs, tightening his grip on the cloth so hard that his knuckles were white. Only a few hours ago, he had be the happiest dwarf in the universe when he had finally been able to confess his love her and that she had done the same and now…now the dream had turned into a nightmare.

Fili didn't answer, he placed his chin on top of his brother's head and let the silent tears streak down his face.

They stayed like that for a few moments until Fili took his brother's arms and parted a few inches from him to look into his eyes.

"We have to go"

Kili shook his head. He was even paler than when he had been poisoned.

"Kee…we need to reach that mountain"

"I am not going. This accursed place was never my home from a start, neither was it hers but she died trying to get us there"

"Then if you don't go, she will have died for nothing"

His brother shook violently and more tears streamed down his face.

"Besides, we don't know what happened to the others, they might be hurt or…or worse" Fili swallowed nervously. "Let's go"

"No"

"Kee, it's our heritage"

"Then go. Leave me"

"I am not going anywhere without you, you know that. Please, Kee, I have lost Luna already, don't make me suffer losing you as well because then I…I won't be able to bear it"

Kili looked at at his brother's face where a new wave of fresh tears were streaming down. They hugged each other again until Bofur warmly squeezed their shoulders.

They slowly got to their feet. Fili nodded at Tauriel and Legolas who had watched them with sorrow in their eyes and they nodded in return then they walked to a little boat that would get them across the lake to the mountain.

* * *

No one talked during their short trip on the lake, nor while they walked towards the gates of Erebor. Their hearts were too full of grief to say anything. Kili had stopped crying, now he just felt empty and although his brother wasn't doing much better, he could see that emptiness reflected in his eyes.

Kili didn't know what he was going to do but staying in Erebor wasn't appealing at all. He was going there because of Fili for now, but he did not care about this damned mountain anymore. He may be a prince there but it was never his home. From the beginning of the quest, of course he had been excited to finally get there. It was such a promising place that could offer them a new life and most of all, where he could be with Luna everyday and give her a new home. She needed it so much…

Being in Erebor had meant being with her and in his mind, he had always pictured them both walking through the gates along with Fili, all three together but now, she wouldn't be with them and that's something he couldn't cope with.

When they finally arrived at the front gate, they stopped for a few moments though and exchanged worried looks. The big front doors of Erebor had been all but destroyed and now only a huge gap was there.

They ran inside, their hearts pounding in their chests. What if Smaug had killed the whole company? They didn't even want to think about it, they weren't sure they could cope with any more losses today.

Under normal circumstances, both Fili and Kili would have looked in awe at the enormous and magnificent hall of Erebor but right now, all they could think of was Luna who would have deserved a thousand times to be here but who would never see the mountain.

"Hello?" Bofur called, pronouncing the very first word since they had left Bard. "Bombur? Bifur?"

They looked around, desperately waiting for one of the dwarves to come and welcome them but there was no one.

"Anybody?" Bofur pleaded, his voice broken with grief.

Trying not to give up their hopes, they went further inside the mountain and ran down a couple of stairs. Neither Fili nor Kili remembered their way through the mountains but the two older dwarves did and they went towards the centre where they most excepted to find the company if they were still alive.

"Wait!" suddenly shouted a voice in the distance. "Wait!"

"It's Bilbo!" Bofur exclaimed, his face brightening up a little bit with renewed hope. "He's alive!"

In a matter of seconds, they heard precipitate footsteps and the hobbit came running towards them, panting for breaths.

Fili sighed in relief for a brief instant before the weight of Luna's death came back on his shoulders.

"Stop!" the hobbit was shouting when he stopped in front of them. "Stop, stop! We need to leave, we all need to leave!"

"We only just got here" Bofur argued.

"I've tried to bring it to him but he won't listen" the hobbit sighed.

"What do you mean, lad?" Oïn asked.

"Thorin! He's been down there for days! He doesn't sleep, he barely eats…he's not been himself, not at all. It's this place, I think a sickness lies on it"

"Sickness?" Kili echoed, focusing on what was going on for the first time. He met his brother's eyes and they exchanged a deeply troubled look that, for once, had nothing to do with Luna. "What kind of sickness?"

Fili didn't wait for Bilbo's answer and he pushed past them to walk down another flight of steps, followed closely by his brother and the others.

A thousand times, the brothers had been described the treasure of Erebor but still, when they arrived on a little platform that stood above the enormous piles of glittering gold and jewels, they stood motionless and voiceless for a few seconds.

And, in the middle of that treasure stood Thorin who looked like he was in a whole other world.

"Gold…Gold beyond measure" he was muttering, "beyond sorrow and grief"

He then saw the dwarves and the hobbit looking at him from the platform.

"Behold the great treasure hold of Thror" he said in a deep, low voice then all of a sudden, he threw a ruby to Fili who caught it.

"Welcome, my sister's sons" Thorin said, putting his hand against his chest, "to the kingdom of Erebor"

"Come on lads" Oïn gently pulled the brothers back by the fabric of their tunics and they followed, despair clear on their faces.

They had feared to find their uncle wounded, or worse, dead, but the dragon sickness had been completely absent from their thoughts. Not only was Luna dead, but now Thorin had succumbed to the gold sickness.

* * *

They followed Bilbo in silence to a room where the rest of the company were gathered and when they saw them, all the dwarves jumped on their feet and ran to them to wrap them up in tight hugs. Fili wanted to share the others' happiness, he really did, but all he could think of was that Luna should have been here to share it as well and be hugged and embraced by all. He took a quick look at his brother. Kili was paler than ever, he had kept his head down ever since they had entered the mountain as if he did not want to look at it. He was being warmly welcomed by Ori and Nori but couldn't bring himself to answer their warm greeting.

In the noisy and merry atmosphere that had settled in the little room with their arrival, the young dark-haired prince, now being hugged by Dwalin, met Bifur's eyes behind the warrior's shoulder and his heart tightened. Bifur was the only one so far who hadn't taken part in the merry gathering and was instead looking at the young dwarf expectantly. Kili read the silent question in his eyes before he had even spoken it and felt the pain in his chest renewed.

"_Luna?_" he asked in his usual low Kûzdhul groan.

Only then did everyone suddenly grow quiet. They all looked around the room for the young girl and some of them suddenly paled, especially when they finally noticed the looks on the faces of those who had just arrived.

"Where is Luna?" Balin asked, something like concern mixed with fear appearing on his face.

None of the four dwarves answered at once. Kili looked down once again to hide the new tears building up in his eyes and Fili tried to find the courage deep inside of him to answer them. Right now, he needed to be strong like the heir to the throne he was, and strong for his brother but all he wanted was to run away and hide to be able to break down and cry without anyone to hear him.

"Where's the lass?" Dwalin asked, more insistent, taking a step forward.

"She…" Fili's voice was broken and shaking. He swallowed to try and steady it at least a little bit. "She helped to kill the dragon…and she didn't come back"

They looked at the young dwarf in a shocked silence for a few moments. None were even sure that they were breathing. Oh, how Kili wished he could have just disappeared into the ground right now, when he felt that most of the glances were turning towards him.

"What…what does that mean?" came Ori's shy and shaking voice.

It was too much for Kili. He finally raised his head, not caring that they could all see the tears that were streaming down his face and locked eyes with the scribe.

"It means that she is dead!" he suddenly exploded, not able to contain his pain anymore and ignoring the hurt on the dwarf's face. "She went after that dragon with Bard to protect his son and it killed her! It killed her! She is never coming back, Ori, do you understand that? She is dead, Luna is dead!"

And he ran out of the room. They watched him go, shocked and grieved beyond measure then the silence was broken by Ori who burst into tears.

Kili bumped into his uncle just outside of the room. He tried to push past him, he didn't want to be with anyone right now, he just wanted to be alone and cry his pain out but Thorin gently but firmly caught his arm. When he looked up to meet his glance, the young dwarf understood that he had heard everything. At that moment, his uncle didn't have the sickness in his look, he seemed to be back to his normal self and all that Kili could see on his face was sadness.

"Kili" was all that he said and without even realising what he was doing, the young dwarf buried his face in his uncle's fur coat while he was closing his arms around him. All at once, he was a little boy again, seeking comfort against his uncle.

"She's dead" he sobbed. "She's never coming back"

"I know, Kili, I know" Thorin whispered, stroking his hair.

* * *

The first thing Luna realised when she woke up was that she was shivering. It took her a couple of minutes to clear her thoughts and finally notice that she was lying on the shore of the lake, half of her body still in the water.

She tried to raise herself into a sitting position or at least get out of the water but a sudden flash of pain coming from her middle stopped her and she bit her lip not to cry out. She dared a look down at her aching body. Her clothes were torn apart, half burnt and covered in blood. She was in a very pitiful state. A little piece of the dress she had been wearing was missing, baring her side and she understood that it must have been burnt and fell off when she saw her burnt and bloody skin. She poked at the injury and threw her head backwards, hissing in pain.

"Luna?"

She snapped her head around, startled, and saw a horse that she had not even heard coming with Legolas and Tauriel on it. They were looking at her in such a big surprise that it almost looked like shock and she raised an eyebrow.

"What are you doing here?" Tauriel gaped at her, getting off the horse and racing towards her, followed closely by Legolas.

"I guess I was washed ashore" she gritted between her teeth, wincing in pain.

Tauriel took a look at her injury and started cleaning and bandaging it.

"Everyone thinks you're dead" Legolas told her in the meantime.

"What?"

She looked at him, bewildered.

"Bard told the dwarves you had died facing the dragon. After he brought it down, he looked for you but couldn't find you…how did you end up here?"

"I'm not sure…I just remember being ejected from that roof then falling into the water…then I think I blacked out and when I woke up, I was half-lying on a board, probably a piece of wood from a house, floating on the water. Then I was out again, and I just woke up here"

"You really have a lucky star watching upon you" Tauriel said, wrapping a bandage around her middle.

"_More like three lucky stars_" she thought, thinking of her father and brothers.

"You said the others think I'm dead? Fili and Kili too?" she asked.

"Yes, we saw them earlier, they left for the mountain"

"The mountain" she repeated in a whisper and looking around her to see exactly where she had been washed ashore, she found its looming shape to her right. "I need to get there"

"Well we can't exactly drop you off in front of the gates but we are riding North, so we can give you a lift until we need to take separate ways. You'll be close enough then, it won't be a long walk" Legolas offered.

"Thank you" she humbly said and they helped her on her feet then on the horse's back.

Her side was still hurting but the elvish medicine was definitely working wonders. She thought that it was the second time in less than two days that these two elves helped her or someone she loved, she really owed them much. Sitting in front of Legolas on the horse, she looked up at the tall shape of the mountain in front of them the whole time they were riding.

She hadn't been washed ashore very far though and their ride was quite short. Legolas stopped the horse at the point where they needed to part and Tauriel helped her down. She had a little wince of pain when her feet touched the ground but shrugged her shoulders when the elves shot her a concerned look.

"Thanks again" she told them. "Not only for now but for what you did back in Laketown. I am in your debt"

"There is no debt between friends" Tauriel smiled at her and, at first surprised, she answered the smile and warmly shook hands with her.

"Don't lose time, they will need you in there" Legolas nodded towards the mountain. "And stay safe"

"You too, whatever you are planning to do up North"

Tauriel sat back on the horse behind Legolas and in a matter of seconds, they were off.

"Until we meet again, little warrior!" they shouted in the distance.

"If we do indeed..." she whispered, waving them goodbye.

Then, she turned her heels and took a deep breath. There it was, the kingdom she had been taught to love all her life although she had no memory of it, Erebor.  
If there hadn't been this quest, she would never have wanted to even get near that place but now she much desired to enter the mountain. Besides other things, Kili was in there and were Kili was, she would be.


	25. Nothing's ever lost

_**Hi everyone! Sorry, I haven't posted updates for a bit longer than usual but I went away for the weekend and although I meant to, I didn't get the time to post this chapter before...  
JustaFallacy, sorry I scared you like that! Hopefully, this chapter will be better!  
The Clown Princess, I am happy that I could make you feel that way  
Legolas's Girl Forever, I'm so sorry as well, I can't believe you had been waiting all day! Thanks for all the support you are giving me!  
As always, keep telling me what you thought and enjoy!**_

* * *

**Chapter XXIV : Nothing's ever lost**

The news of Luna's death had been brought to the company a couple of hours earlier already and since then, the only sounds that had been heard inside the mountain were the sobs of Ori that came back once in a while, interrupted by moments where he would just sit there, curled up against his brothers, silent tears dropping down on his face.

Bombur had been about to devour a whole meal just before the others had come back without the young girl and afterwards, he had just pushed his full plate away and stared into the emptiness.

Gloin had hugged his brother Oïn when he had come back, happy to see he was alright, and they were still now in each other's arms, afraid that if they let go, the world would collapse around them.

Bofur had said nothing, he was still standing on the spot where he had been when the news had been broken in to the others and once again, his hat was in his hands instead of on his head.

His brother Bifur wished only that the day he had gotten the axe embedded into its skull, it had been planted even deeper to make him forget what death and sorrow meant.

Balin was sitting on a chair, silent tears falling down into his beard and Dwalin was standing besides him, a hand on his shoulder. For the first time in his life, the big warrior didn't look scary or ready for a fight but instead looked as if he had been defeated.

Bilbo was sitting in a corner, his legs folded, knees against his chest. He was so small like that one would barely have noticed him. He couldn't believe what was happening. He had been such a pathetic hobbit at the beginning, when he had joined the quest for the sake of going on an adventure that he had thought would be quite fun. Never had he imagined that they would be confronted to the loss of one of them, especially not Luna.

Thorin, for the first time ever since they had reached the mountain, wasn't contemplating his piles of gold but was instead sitting with his company. He seemed to have come back to his normal self, except that normal Thorin never looked sad and tired like he did now.

The only ones who weren't in the room were Fili and Kili but they weren't far though : Kili had sat on the ground just outside of the door, against the wall and his brother had quickly joined him, not able to stay in the room with the others and knowing that Kili needed him now as much as himself needed Kili.

They were just sitting there, motionless and in silence. Even Kili had no tears left to cry. He looked like an empty shell ; pale and his eyes empty of everything but pain. Even if he had tried, he couldn't have chased the images of Luna going through his mind. He was constantly seeing her smile, her bright ginger curls, her shiny eyes that could read him so well. He could still feel on his lips her sweet taste of honey, berries and that peculiar summer night thing that made him fall for her every time. His mind didn't seem to register the fact that she was gone and was instead showing him all that and making him feel as if he just missed her because she was gone on a trip but that she would come back sometimes soon.

Fili, on the other side, had managed to clear his thoughts well enough to consider the situation. It seemed like time had stopped in the mountain. No one looked ready to do anything or to even move. He only realised now how important Luna had been to them. Behind her fragile innocent girl looks, she had been someone they had looked up to for advice, sometimes even orders. It was not only the line of Durin that she had kept safe all the way here, but the whole company. She had been a discreet but essential presence amongst them ; she had been their captain. And what was Erebor without its captain?

Another hour passed before Thorin stood up at last. They all turned their eyes towards him.

"Come on" he said hoarsely. "Let's get back to work"

Some of the dwarves widened their eyes.

"Thorin…" Balin started.

"Everyone, on your feet. She wouldn't have wanted us to let ourselves go in such a way while we have finally just taken our home back"

His tone was gentle but firm. They looked at each other then did as he said and walked out of the room towards the treasure. They needed to find the Arkenstone.

"Kili, come on" Thorin said, walking past his nephews still sitting outside.

The young dwarf didn't move and Fili shot his uncle an insistent look so he left them.

"He's right, you know" the blonde dwarf told his brother in a still broken voice. "What would she say if she could see us now?"

Again, Kili didn't speak nor move. Fili even wondered if he had heard him.

He sighed and kissed him on the top of his head.

"Come on"

He stood up and pulled his brother up. He thought for a moment that Kili would still not move but the young dwarf let him do and followed when he dragged him along the corridor behind the others. Fili fought back a new wave of fresh tears. He had lost Luna…and he had a feeling he had just lost his brother as well.

* * *

"Any sign of it?" Thorin's voice echoed in the huge halls.

"Nothing yet"

"Nothing here!"

The dwarves were looking for the Arkenstone in the huge piles of gold. That way, they hoped to keep their minds busy. Only Fili and Kili weren't searching. They were standing on the treasure like all the others but didn't have the heart to look for the stone. Kili still looked like a ghost and Fili, despite all his efforts, couldn't bring himself to look to that treasure that he saw like a curse.

"Keep searching!" Thorin barked.

"That jewel could be anywhere"

"The Arkenstone is in these halls. Find it"

"You heard him? Keep looking" Dwalin exclaimed.

"All of you! No one rests until it is found! Fili, Kili, you as well!"

At the sound of his uncle's angry voice in which all traces of sorrow seemed to have now disappeared, Kili snapped his head up towards him, standing on a sort of little balcony.

"One of ours is dead and all you want us to do is to look for a stone?!" he exploded.

They all stopped what they were doing and turned towards the young dwarf who locked eyes with his uncle.

The sickness had come back in those blue eyes of his.

"It is the Arkenstone, it…" Thorin started.

"I don't care what it is!" Kili cut him off. "It's just a rock and you are paying more attention to it than to her!"

"She is dead"

"Because of you! If you hadn't left us in Laketown from the start, she would never have had to face that dragon!"

"She was the one who decided to stay back against my orders, she is responsible for her own death"

Even Fili who had been trying so far to calm his brother down shot a dark look at his uncle. Kili looked shocked for a moment, as if he couldn't believe what he had just heard, then he exploded again.

"I forbid you to say such words! She died for you and your bloody mountain that she never cared for! The least you can do is to show some respect for her!"

"I have respect for her and always will" Thorin said, trying to keep a calm voice. "Once we have found the Arkenstone and brought Erebor its former glory, we will make sure that she is never forgotten. We will hold a ceremony and carve her name into stone so that it is never forgotten, I promise you that"

"That is very nice of you" came a voice from the top of a flight of stairs that made them all freeze, "but that won't be necessary"

They all snapped their heads in the direction of the voice and their eyes widened in shock when they saw who it belonged to. For an instant, silence reigned in the halls of Erebor as they all stood motionless, staring at what some of them first thought was a ghost.

Dwalin was the first to break the silence. He raced towards the young girl and wrapped her up in a rib cracking hug. That's all the dwarves needed to be dragged out of their shocked silence and they all started cheering, laughing and running towards the young girl to hug her as well.

Only Kili hadn't moved yet. He was staring at Luna, still thinking that she was a ghost. For a moment, he didn't see her anymore, hidden behind all the others who were hugging her in turns then she reappeared again and their eyes met. A soft smile passed on her lips and his heart that had been falling to pieces suddenly became whole again, and even more, it was pounding in his chest as if trying to get to the girl now although his legs were stuck in the ground.

"Luna…" he muttered and before he could even think of what to do, he raced towards her and took her in his arms to hug her so tightly he lifted her up from the ground.

She wrapped her arms around him and he buried his face against her neck to hide his tears.

"I'm here, Kili" she whispered.

Oh after all, they were tears of joy. He lifted up his head and cupped her face to look at her. She could feel that he was shaking and thought that she had never seen such happiness and emotion on anyone's face.

Then, all of a sudden, without even caring that the whole company were there watching them, he brought her face to his and kissed her.

At first surprised, she quickly kissed him back and they only stopped when they finally heard the others laughing around them. They parted, panting for breaths and finally grew aware of what they had just done in front of the others. Most of the dwarves were cheering, the others widely grinning at them.

Fili had never had such a big smile on his face. He put a hand on Luna's shoulder when she and his brother parted and hugged her as well.

"Thank you" he whispered in her ear. "Thank you for coming back"

They suddenly heard someone clearing his voice and turned to see Thorin standing before them. A flash of worry passed in Fili's eyes and for a moment he feared his uncle's reaction. It was true after all than him and Luna hadn't parted in really good terms…

The dwarf looked at the young girl for a moment then stepped forward and put a hand on her shoulder, a smile appearing on his face.

"I am glad that you are alive" he simply said and the dwarves started cheering loudly again while Luna humbly bowed her head.

"What happened to you?" Bofur asked.

"Bard said you were dead!" Oïn exclaimed and they all started asking so many questions at once that she could barely understand.

"Our captain is tougher than she looks, you should all know that by now" Balin intervened, cutting short all the questions. "Give her some air, I am sure the lass could do with a rest and a nice meal"

Luna was very grateful for that. She was starving, exhausted and in desperate need of new clothes.

"Do you have any wounds I should take a look at, lass?" Oïn asked, his eyes flashing to her side that, although Tauriel had healed it, was still covered in blood and a bit burnt.

"No, I'm fine, Oïn, thank you" she flashed him a smile then followed Balin up the stairs. Thorin would have probably wanted them to stay to keep looking for the Arkenstone but neither Fili nor Kili really cared and they went with them. Kili took the young girl's hand in his. He still needed to touch her to make sure that she was really there and that she wasn't jut an illusion that could disappear any moment.

* * *

Luna rapidly enquired about what had been happening. Balin told her how they had arrived in Erebor, found the door and send Bilbo first. He briefly related the fight against Smaug and how the dragon had ended up leaving the mountain to go to Laketown. At this point, Fili and Kili continued the story, telling how they had fled the burning town, not forgetting to mention the episode of the orcs' attack. Luna explained what had happened after she had left the boat to follow Bain and how she had ended up washed ashore where Tauriel and Legolas had found her, healed her and gave her a ride.

She then enquired about Thorin and at that, they paused for a moment.

"He…he is not the same" Fili sighed. "All he think of is the Arkenstone"

She saw the sadness in Balin's eyes.

"I am afraid that the dragon sickness has taken him" he sadly said.

She looked down. That is what she had learnt to fear from her father. She remembered that as much as her father had always wanted to reclaim the mountain, whenever he would talk about it, she could catch that little flash of worry passing in his eyes.

"But let's not talk about that. Right now, all that matters is that you are alive, lass" the old dwarf said a bit more cheerfully, squeezing her shoulder. "Come on, let's get you some food, then I'll show you something"

Settling back in a long abandoned kingdom where only a dragon had lived for the past decades meant that they didn't have much supply, yet Luna was so hungry that she was more than happy with the stew that Balin brought her.

Kili chuckled when he saw the delight with which she was eating and she raised an eyebrow at him.

"What?" she asked.

"Nothing" he said, a huge smile on his face. "I'm just happy"

That made her blush and she was about to reply when someone suddenly burst in the room and stopped in the doorframe, staring at Luna as if he was in some sort of dream.

"Lu…Luna!" Bilbo gasped.

She was the one who ran towards him and hug him. He stood motionless for a few seconds then awkwardly returned her hug.

"The others said you had come back, I couldn't believe, I…you…" he talked so fast that she chuckled.

"I missed you too, Bilbo" she said and he smiled.

The hobbit's thoughts had been troubled with worry and concern for the past few days but if Luna was back, he felt that everything would be alright.

For at least an hour, they talked lightly of things that for the first time in a very long time had nothing to do with the quest. They talked of the weather, of flowers, of the Blue mountains. They talked of the ones that some of them had left back home, including Fili and Kili's mother Dis. Bilbo told them stories of the Shire and the ways of the hobbits and they told him about dwarves. For the first time in ages, they put asides all their worries and talked only of small things that made them happy and they all felt better than they had for the past few months.

When they finally stopped talking, Balin asked Luna to follow him for he had something to show her and Fili had to convince his brother to let them go alone.

The young girl followed the old dwarf along a series of corridors, sometimes long, sometimes short, wide or narrow. They went up and down many stairs and she was actually amazed at the facility with which he was able to find his way in the labyrinth that was Erebor after so many years.

"Where are we going?" she asked for what seemed the hundredth time.

"You will see" he patiently answered with a little mysterious smile.

They turned one more corner and Balin finally stopped in front of a big beautiful door at the very end of a corridor that lead only to it.

"Where are we?" she asked, having a strange feeling that she had been in this very precise spot before.

"These are the captain's chambers"

She slightly widened her eyes. This meant that her family, her whole family including her mother and Logan, had lived behind these doors. And further more, it meant that as the captain, these were now her chambers.

She turned her eyes to meet Balin's and he gave her a small nod. She swallowed nervously and stepped towards the door. Why was she so hesitant, she did not know. Her hands were slightly shaking when she turned the massive handle and slowly pushed the door open. She paused for an instant. She wasn't sure what she would find behind the door. A place where her family had lived happily, a place that had been home to them and that, if everything had gone as it should have, wouldn't seem so scary to her now.

She took a deep breath and finally entered the place. The first thing she realised was that although she had thought that their long trip along the corridors and the stairs had taken them far within the mountain, she was standing in a room with large windows that let daylight in more than in any other place of the mountain that she had seen so far.

She looked around her. Everything was covered with a thick layer of dust and seemed frozen in time but she could imagine what it must have looked like when there was life in here. She was standing in the first room of a large suite. Old, elegant couches were disposed in the middle of the room with a low table and many bookshelves stood against the walls. Big drapes were hanging in front of the windows and wherever the walls weren't covered in bookshelves, they were covered in beautiful, rich tapestries. She slowly walked around the room, feeling like an intruder in the silence and stillness that had reigned here for so long. She took a look at the tapestries. Although their colours were a bit faded, she could still easily recognise some scenes that represented great deeds done by some of her ancestors. On the low table near the couches, books were piled up as if someone who had been reading had been interrupted and hadn't had the time to put them back on the shelves. One of the books was even open and she carefully took it, blowing the dust away. She recognised at once a story that her father and brothers often used to tell her when she was a child and an absent smile passed on her face.

There were some portraits on the walls as well. Most of them, she didn't recognise those who were represented but she stopped in front of one of her family and she had to repress the tears that were dwelling up in her eyes again. She longly watched their painted faces. There was her father of course, looking younger than she had ever seen him and without the wounds that he had gotten at the battle of Moria where he had lost one of his eyes and one of his legs. Standing on both sides of him were her brothers. Although he was younger then, probably a bit younger than she was today, she had no trouble recognising Lunkin, second son of the family. Her eyes stayed a little bit longer on the other brother, Laïn's first son, the one that she had hardly known, Logan. He was only a bit older than his brother and she had to admit that from the three of them, he was the one who looked most like their father. How close those two had been, she had always only been able to imagine it but she had the feeling that they had been as inseparable as Fili and Kili were. She was too young to realise at the time how Lunkin had really felt when Logan had died but now that she thought of their relationship as one as strong as Fili and Kili's, she wondered how he had coped with it.  
The last face her eyes landed on was the one of a woman that was sitting on a chair in front of her husband. She only knew her from the descriptions she had so often heard but recognised her mother at once. She absentmindedly raised her arm and brushed the painted face with her fingertips. Although it was just a painting, she could see how beautiful her mother had been. She had sometimes heard being said that she herself had some beauty, but that was nothing compared to her mother. Her long auburn hair was neatly braided in a very nice and noble way, still she looked simple and gentle. Her face was the one of a caring mother who would do anything to protect her children.  
Luna brushed the tears away from her eyes and turned her glance away until it landed on the other part of the suite that she hadn't visited yet.

She slowly walked to the second room that was separated from the this one by another door that was already open this time. She walked in and found herself standing in a large bedroom ; her parents' bedroom. Its centre was occupied by a massive four poster bed and there were also a large cupboard, a little table with some chairs in a corner, one or two other pieces of furnitures, tapestries on the walls again and carpets on the grounds and she even discovered a little bathroom. What mostly caught her attention tough was the cradle standing at the foot of her parents' bed. She slowly made her way to it, her hands shaking. The sheets were neatly arranged in the cradle and there was a little stuffed fox in it. Everything in both room had looked as if it had been used already : the books that had already been read, the couches on which people had already sat, the bed in which people had slept,…but the cradle was the only thing that looked as if it was still waiting for the first time a baby would be laid down in it.

A tear rolled down her face as she took the stuffed fox in her hand and looked at it. Of course this cradle had never been used…it had been prepared for her, a place for the newborn baby to sleep in peace but unfortunately, a dragon had come before it was possible and the baby had never slept here. She chuckled as she pictured her father placing the stuffed animal in the cradle himself. If Smaug had not come that day, everything would have been different. Her parents would be here right now, her mother quietly reading on a couch while her father would be writing a rapport for the king. She herself would probably have been in her own room to which she would have been moved as soon as she was old enough to sleep by herself, just like her brothers had been when they were younger.

She shook her head to clear her mind of these thoughts and looked around the room again. She needed to get dressed.

* * *

Balin waited for the young girl in the corridor and when she reappeared, he found it hard to repress the little tear in the corner of his eye.

She had changed her torn, burnt clothes for some that she had found there was now wearing some that had belonged to her mother. When she had been through the closet, Luna had found many of her father's weapons and clothes that didn't fit her, as well as many dresses that were unfitted for her job of captain. Fortunately, she had ended up finding a fine burgundy tunic that suited her auburn hair -the same colour as her mother's- beautifully. She had also put on some pants, her boots and a shirt underneath it, as well as a belt to which she fastened a sheath with one of the swords she had found. All her weapons had been taken by the elves in Mirkwood and she hadn't had the time to take any in Laketown with the circumstances so she had been happy to discover that her father had kept his personal little armoury in his closet. She had also put some leather armbands on her forearms and finally, as she had been about to step out of the room, her eyes had landed on a little chest that she hadn't seen before. Opening it, she had found some jewels that had no doubt belonged to her mother. Instantly, she had felt like this was more precious to her than all the gold Thorin had down there in the halls of Erebor. Most of the jewels looked very precious but the one that she had put around her neck was a thin and simple golden chain to which was hanging a small golden disk on which was engraved a rune in khûzdul that meant _forever_ or _eternity_. No doubt it had been a gift from her father to her mother but it meant a lot more to her.

"You look…" Balin started with emotion in his voice and he looked for his words for a few seconds. "You look both beautiful like your mother, and strong like your father. It's like I am staring at the former glorious days of this kingdom, with that little extra thing that was never there before but that you add...and it makes it all just more beautiful"

She gave him a shy smile.

"Come on Balin" she then said a bit more cheerfully, squeezing his shoulder. "Let's bring Erebor back to its golden age"


	26. Uncertain future

**Chapter XXV : Uncertain future**

"It is here in these halls. I know it" Thorin whispered, his voice echoing around them in the throne room which was more like a huge hall with a long bridge leading to a big platform where the massive throne was standing. Its top was broken and still bore the marks left by Smaug's claws where the Arkenstone used to be.

"We have searched and searched" Dwalin tried.

He and Balin were standing on the little platform while Thorin was facing the throne, up the stairs that led to it. Next to him where Bilbo and Luna that he had summoned to his side, Luna because she was the captain and Bilbo because he now trusted him and acknowledged that without him, they would never have entered the mountain.

"Not well enough" he spat.

"Thorin, you hold what you wished to return" Dwalin sighed.

"And yet it's still not found!" his big voice echoed again in the emptiness of the hall.

Luna did not like this place. There were no windows, no doors besides the one at the other end of the bridge. She felt trapped within the mountain with no way to escape and had to fight the urge to run away. She knew it would be like this, her claustrophobic instincts were stronger than ever inside Erebor.

"Do you doubt the loyalty of anyone here?" Balin asked. "The Arkenstone is the birth-right of our people"

"It is the king's jewel. Am I not the king?" Thorin roared and Luna bit her lip to keep herself from replying anything that would undoubtedly make him even angrier. He paused for a moment then added in a lower tone, "Know this : if anyone should find it and withhold it from me, I will be avenged"

And as he walked away, leaving them there on their own, Luna caught the strange expression of uneasiness on Bilbo's face. She looked at Thorin who was leaving the hall and waited for a few moments in case he ordered her to follow him and was glad that he didn't.

Dwalin and Balin exchanged a sad and concerned look then they left the hall as well and both the hobbit and the young girl were left alone in front of the throne.

"Bilbo, wait" Luna said when he made a move to leave as well. The increased uneasiness that she saw on his face and how he avoided her glance when he turned around did nothing to appease the bad feeling that had taken hold of her when she had first noticed his awkward posture in front of Thorin. "You know you can always trust me, right?" she asked.

He slowly nodded, still not looking at her eyes.

"If there ever was anything bothering you, you could always tell me. I am your friend"

"And you are mine" he said in a little voice, meeting her eyes for the first time. It lasted only a couple of seconds but she saw so much concern and doubts in his glance that she froze. He then nodded and finally left the hall in his turn, leaving her alone.

* * *

"Luna!"

She had just stepped out of the throne room and snapped her head around when she heard her name being called to see Kili coming towards her.

Despite all the troubles they were in, her lips stretched on a little smile when she saw him. She hadn't seen him since Balin had shown her the captain's chambers ; Thorin had called for her just after and he looked her up and down with a little gleam in the eyes.

"You look wonderful" he whispered.

Chuckling, she pulled him towards her and kissed him, playfully at first then more deeply when he grabbed her waist and answered her kiss.

A little moan escaped her and she thought that no matter how many times she would kiss him, it would always have the same fantastic effect on her. When they parted, their eyes were shining and they were blushing.

"Come, I'll show you something" he said with a sheepish smile, taking her hand to lead her through the maze of Erebor.

She wondered how he could already find his way in the mountain so easily while he had only been here for a couple of hours more than her. She felt like she would forever get lost in the halls and corridors and as the captain, she definitely needed to work on that.

He refused to tell her where they were going until they arrived on a little balcony built high on the side of the mountain and that gave a breathtaking view on the surroundings, especially on the ruins of Dale and on the lake stretching in the distance. From here, they could even catch a glimpse of the black forest on one shore of the lake and in the middle of the water was standing the form of what had not so long ago been Laketown.

But most importantly, they were in the open air and Luna closed her eyes for a few seconds to take a few deep breaths. Kili watched her and had to fight the urge to brush his fingertips against her cheek and gently bring her face to his for another kiss. She was so beautiful when she looked so much at peace, enjoying the sun rays on her soft skin.

"I am guessing you like it" he said with a little smile.

"I love it" she whispered, opening her eyes and answering his smile. "I'm so glad to see that there are still places in this mountain where I won't feel trapped"

He gently squeezed her hand and they sat on a rock.

"So what did Thorin want?" Kili asked after a little pause.

He immediately regretted it : concern came back in the young girl's eyes and he interiorly cursed himself.

"Nothing, it was just about the Arkenstone again" she answered.

"That damned stone…for so long I have wished to see it but now, I only wish it had never existed"

She shrugged her shoulders.

"Do you think he will be alright?" Kili asked in a lower tone, worry clear in his voice.

She sighed and didn't answer at once. Instead she looked at their fingers intertwined together. If only she could leave this place with him, her hand in his like it was now, she would probably do it.

"I hope he will" she replied, shrugging her shoulders. "I really do"

They were silent for some instants and just enjoyed the tranquility they had now with no one to come and disturb them then another question came to Kili's mind.

"Luna?" he asked, turning his face towards her and she shot him a questioning look. "When you lived in the hidden valley, was there ever a…I mean…did you ever meet someone?"

"What do you mean?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at his blushing cheeks.

"I mean…were you ever courted by anyone?"

The question took her completely off guard.

"What?"

"I was just wondering…after all, it is totally plausible ; you are a beautiful, smart and stunning young woman, you come from a noble family,…I can't believe I'm the only one who has ever loved you"

"Sometimes I believe it's not love but more like interest" she sighed.

"Why do you say that?"

"There has been a guy…he actually wanted to marry me"

"What?"

She felt Kili's hand tense in hers and gently squeezed it.

"It's okay, it never happened and never will. I was totally opposed to it"

"Tell me what happened"

Her glance trailed on the landscape in front of them and she sighed again.

"He was a dwarf from the Iron Hills who had come to pay a visit to my father in the hidden valley for some matters that they needed to discuss. He ended up staying for a whole month to my great displeasure"

"Was he mean to you?"

"No, not at all, it's just that I didn't like the way he looked at me. He came from a very respectable family and was a good warrior and a wise dwarf but probably not someone I could ever have made a friend of"

"What happened then?"

"As the month passed by, he seemed to be constantly watching me and then, on the eve of his departure, I heard him ask my father for my hand. He told him that it would be a most beneficial marriage for both our families, that I was a still quite young girl but it was time to take my future into consideration. Actually, his arguments were not that bad. Lunkin was to be the captain after my father and at that time, we weren't talking about retaking Erebor yet so my future was quite uncertain. What life could a young girl from a noble rank have expected in the hidden valley?"

"What did your father say?"

"He said he would think about it"

"I guess he never agreed in the end?"

"Nor did he disagree…actually, he never answered him despite all the letters he got from the Iron Hills. My father knew how much I disliked the idea of marrying that dwarf and still hoped for a better alternative for his daughter. Maybe that if nothing had happened and that he was still alive with Lunkin to succeed him, he would have ended up agreeing"

"Even without your consent?"

"Sometimes that's the least thing that should be taken into consideration…you know, the captains have always made a very attractive match for many other noble families who wished to be linked to ours by marriage. My father told me once about all the young -and not so young- women who were trying to get his preference when he was young himself. Fortunately, he ended up marrying for love but not all of us were that lucky"

"You will"

She bit her lip and he raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

"It's just…sometimes I think about what will happen once the dwarves will have settled back in here and that Erebor will be once more a great kingdom. I am the captain but more than that, I am the very last heir of my family. If I die without children, the line of the captains will be extinct for good. I don't think it's a possibility Thorin will be fond of and as my king, the king to whom I owe my allegiance and my life, he has a right to choose a husband for me"

"That's not very fair"

"That's the law"

"Anyway, he knows our relationship. He will never pick a husband for you in such circumstances"

Again, she sighed and he tensed.

"Luna?"

"Thorin doesn't approve of us" she whispered. "Sometimes I fear that he will try to separate us if he can and give me to someone else"

"I won't allow it" he gritted between his teeth, his eyes flashing dark glances. "You are not an object he can give to someone else just like that"

"I am his captain…"

"And I am his nephew and I love you"

She didn't answer and he gently turned her face towards his to meet her eyes.

"Luna, don't you love me ?"

"Of course I love you, Kili, more than anything, more than anyone. You are my One and even if someday I am given to another man, I will never stop loving you"

He touched her forehead with his and she closed her eyes.

"I swear to you I won't let that happen" he whispered. "Never. Still yesterday, I thought I had lost you forever and that I was condemned to spend the rest of my life without you, I am not intending to lose you again so soon"

"Come on, Kili" she said a bit more cheerfully, "that was just a dragon, I've seen one before, not a big deal" and he chuckled before cupping her face and softly kissing her lips.

"_Amrâlimé"_ he murmured and feeling the tears dwelling up in her eyes, she buried herself in his embrace and kissed his neck while he put his arms around her and rested his chin on the top of her head.

They stayed in each other's arms for a few moments until something caught Luna's eye in the distance.

"Kili, look" she said, parting from him and pointing at a large shape moving towards the ruins of Dale.

"What…" he started.

They narrowed their eyes and were able to distinguish the forms of many men, women and children walking towards Dale.

"It's a crowd…" Kili muttered.

"The survivors of Laketown!"

"What do they want to find in Dale?"

"I doubt it is in Dale that they hope to find anything" she bit her lip. "We need to tell Thorin"

He nodded and they ran back inside to find him.

* * *

As soon as Thorin was warned, he called everyone to the gates and the dwarves gathered to see in the distance the fires that the men had lit for the night in the ruins of the city.

"I don't understand what they are doing in Dale, it's just ruins" Bofur said, thoughtful and Luna rolled her eyes.

"It is not Dale they are interested in" she stepped forward and looked at them then her eyes landed on Thorin. "It is what you promised them" she added for him.

"Then they've come all this way for nothing" he snapped and she widened her eyes in shock. Would he really not honour his word?

"Thorin…" she started but a terrible glare from him stopped her.

"They will have nothing of the treasure" he spat. "We'll close the gates with stones!"

Luna was about to intervene again but Fili prevented her from doing so by placing a hand on her shoulder and she exchanged a worried glance with him.

Under Thorin's orders, the dwarves started gathering massive rocks and pile them up to close the gates. Only Luna and Bilbo didn't take part in the work. The young girl looked with growing anxiety as the wall was starting to be erected, trapping them inside the mountain. She startled when she felt someone tugging at her sleeve and turning around, she found Bilbo standing behind her with a deeply troubled face.

"Bilbo?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

He didn't say anything and just nodded towards a close exit. Shooting a quick glance at the others who hadn't noticed them, she followed him.

"What's the matter?" she asked.

"Wait, not here" he muttered.

They walked until they were certain no one could eavesdrop on them and then only did Bilbo turned towards her. He took a deep breath and Luna seriously started to wonder if he was alright.

"You…you said I could speak to you of anything…" he started.

"I did"

"I…" he bit his lip, took another deep breath but didn't seem able to get the words out of his mouth.

Finally, he gave up trying to explain himself with words and instead showed her the object of his trouble. He looked for something in the inner pocket of his jacket and after a few seconds, took out a beautiful, colourful and shiny stone ; the Arkenstone.

Luna's eyes widened and she couldn't subdue a little gasp. Her eyes passed from the stone to Bilbo's face for a brief moment and it was her turn to find herself short on words.

"How…where did you find it?!" she gasped.

"I found it when I was with Smaug in the halls…I managed to pick it up before running for my life" he mumbled.

"Does anyone knows…?"

He shook his head.

"I meant to give it to Thorin but I don't know why…somehow I am not sure about this. And when I talked to Balin earlier, he told me that it would be better that the stone remained lost and I…I don't know what to do, Luna…I can't give it to him but I can't keep this for myself either"

There was so much despair and helplessness in the hobbit's voice that if the situation had not been so grave, she would have hugged him and told him everything would be alright. She shook her head to clear her thoughts. If she wanted to be the good captain she oughted to be, the captain that only cares for her king's will, she should take both the stone and the hobbit and present them to Thorin.

That was out of the question of course. She had realised a long time ago already that it was not only Thorin's wellbeing that mattered to her, but the wellbeing of all the dwarves in the company and Bilbo was right. If Thorin was to behold the Arkenstone, nothing would be able to stop his madness anymore.

"No, you're right" she muttered. "He can't have the stone but if he finds out that you have it, I'm afraid even I won't be able to protect you"

That definitely failed to reassure him and the despair in his eyes increased.

"What should we do with it?" he asked in a pleading voice.

"I don't know, but I'll think about it. Just give me some time and I'll come up with an idea"

"Won't you take it?" he handed out the stone to her but she suddenly backed away as if terrified to touch it.

"No! Bilbo, don't! I don't want it, plus I am far more in Thorin's presence than you are, if I keep the stone, there will be a higher chance that he finds it out and then the circumstances would be terrible. Keep it for now, try to avoid him as much as you can without looking suspect and wait for my orders"

The hobbit nodded and hastily stuffed the stone back inside his coat. Despite her petite frame and soft looks, there was something in this young girl that made anyone follow her orders. She had a natural sense of leadership and once again, Bilbo thought about what a great captain the dwarves had.

"You've changed a lot, Bilbo Baggins" she said with something like pride in her eyes and a soft smile. "You're not the same hobbit who left the Shire on that morning so long ago"

"I feel like we've already had this conversation" he mumbled and she chuckled.

"It is more obvious everyday. You know, it is the captain who picks the six guards that compose the Royal Guard of Erebor, with the approval of the king of course and I can't help but believe that you would make a fantastic guard"

He blushed and looked very confused.

"You're saying that because you're nice" he mumbled.

"Not at all. You see what is truly good for the others and are ready to sacrifice yourself for them, without even them noticing most of the time. To me, these are the greatest qualities a guard can have"

He gave her an awkward smile.

"I know that when everything will be settled, you will go back to the Shire and I know that there has never been a guard who wasn't a dwarf" she added, making a move to leave and go back to check on the others, "but if you would agree, it would be my pleasure to make you an honorary guard of Erebor"

He suddenly looked up in surprise, not sure whether he had heard correctly or not but she just gave him a little smile then she was off.


	27. The plan

**Chapter XXVI : The plan**

The dwarves didn't get much sleep that night ; Thorin wanted the wall built by morning and they worked until dawn to erect it, taking turns to rest for at least a few hours.

"I want this fortress safe by sun up" Thorin barked around midnight while they were all working. "This mountain was hard won, I will not see it taken again!"

Kili who had been pushing a kart with Bilbo stopped what he was doing.

"The people of Laketown have nothing!" he exclaimed. "They came to us in need, they have lost everything!"

"Do not tell me what they have lost" Thorin darkly replied. "I know well enough of their hardship. Those who have lived dragon fire should rejoice! They have much to be grateful for"

Luna squeezed Kili's shoulder as she walked past him towards his uncle. Maybe if she tried to speak to him calmly, he would change his mind.

"Thorin" she started in the most calming voice she could. "He is right, we can't just leave them"

That definitely didn't work. He shot her his darkest glance and for a second, she even thought that he would hit her.

"Stay in your place" he hissed at her.

He took a few steps away then turned towards her again. "That also means away from my nephew" he added in an icy voice that froze her where she was and she just stared after him as he left them.

Fili came up next to her, he had obviously heard what had just been said and from the look on his face, he didn't approve it at all.

"As the future king of this…" he looked around him with a bad look and seemed to force the word out of his mouth, "mountain, I greatly advises you to stay with my brother as much as you will, in your rightful place"

"What about the part where I protect you and spend my days by your side?"

"I am sure I will be able to cope with your occasional absence, and if needed, I'll know where to find you"

"Where's that?"

"In my brother's bed"

She gave him a little kick in the stomach and he tried very hard to repress a little laugh while she was turning bright red.

"Do not ever say such words anywhere near Thorin" she hissed.

"He will have to accept it whether he wants it or not"

"Fili, please"

"Alright, don't worry, I'm not that stupid"

He paused for a few moments and they watched the dwarves hurrying here and there to bring always more stones.

"You and I will form a very strange duo someday when Erebor will be ruled by a king who never wanted to become one, with by his side a captain who would give anything to leave the kingdom" he sighed.

"You forget something that will make it even stranger, and actually quite worrying"

"What's that?"

"Kili will be your first counselor"

That made him chuckle.

"That's it then, we're doomed" he said.

* * *

Luna was among the last who took a rest, about two hours before the sun rose and when she woke up, she had to look up to see the top of the wall that had been finished, high above them. Narrow steps made of the same rocks that had been used to raise the wall gave an access to its top from which they could watch Dale and its new occupants.

"Now we're trapped" she muttered to herself.

"Come on" Thorin snapped as he walked past them and made his way up the stairs, his long fur coat floating behind him.

They followed him to the top of the wall, resigned, but when they arrived there and saw what was awaiting for us there, most of the dwarves gasped.

"What the…" Bofur started and Bifur cursed under his breath in Khûzdul.

Others had obviously arrived in Dale overnight and now stood in the ruins a whole army of Elves.

"Thranduil" Luna muttered. She doubted the elven king had come all this way only to help the people of Laketown and felt a bit of fear creep up her spine. The men, the elves,…how many would come and try to take a part of Thorin's treasure?

They snapped their heads towards the road that lead to the gates of Erebor when they heard the sound of galloping and a white horse with its rider came into view.

The rider stopped a few meters away from the bridge that lead to the now closed gate and he looked up towards the dwarves who were gathered on the top of the wall. Without surprise, Luna discovered it was Bard. Undoubtedly, the bowman was the one who had lead his people to Dale and was now coming to speak to Thorin.

"Hail Thorin, son of Thrain" he greeted. "We are glad to find you alive beyond hope"

"Why do you come to the gate of the king of the mountain armed for war?" Thorin asked in a cold voice.

"Why does the king of the mountain fence himself in like a robber in his home?"

"Perhaps it is because I am expecting to be robbed"

Luna rolled her eyes. This dwarf could be very stubborn at times.

"My lord" Bard continued in a softer voice. "We have not come to rob you but to seek fair settlement. Will you not speak with me?"

The dwarves looked at Thorin. Most of them feared for a moment that he would not agree and send the man back the way he came but to their relief, he nodded and gestured for Bard to walk to the gate while he walked down the steps.

A little hole had been left in the gate for cases such as this and they conversed for a few minutes. From where they were, the others couldn't hear what was being said.

They waited in silence for a few moments, none of them daring to make a sound, hoping it would go well until the loud voice from Thorin had them startled.

"Be gone!" he roared at Bard. "Else our arrows fly!"

"Thorin, no!" Luna couldn't help herself and the dwarf's eyes turned towards them, full of anger.

Bard looked up to the top of the wall as well, startled at the sound of her voice, and he saw her for the first time. So she had survived the dragon…

"He helped us when we had nothing! Without him, we would have never made it here and because of us, now it's him who has nothing left! Please, Thorin, he has three children, you saw them. Will you do nothing to help them?"

The silence that fell on them was terrifying. The dwarves stood frozen where they were, barely daring to breathe. Thorin slowly walked up the stairs towards the young girl who stood still. Kili bit his lips, he was ready to intervene but Fili, as if sensing what his brother planned to do, firmly caught his wrist. They both thought that if they were in Luna's place right now, they would at least step back but the young girl was staying where she was, never getting her eyes off Thorin. Even Bard had taken a few steps back from the gate to try and get a better view on what was going on on top of the wall.

When Thorin arrived in front of Luna, the young girl supported his glance but deep inside, she wished she could vanish in the ground.

"Thorin…" she started but all of a sudden, he backhanded her across the face so hard that it sent her to the ground.

The dwarves gasped and some made a move to reach for her but Thorin raised in hand to order them to stay where they were. It took all of Dwalin's and Fili's strengths to hold Kili back.

Thorin looked down at Luna who seemed too shocked by what had just happened to even move.

"If you defy my authority again, I will personally make sure that you won't be able to ever stand in my way anymore" he said in a voice such as none had ever heard then he turned his face towards Bard again.

"In two minutes, our arrows will fly, you'd better be far enough then if you wish to live" he threatened.

The man angrily kicked a little rock away with his foot but turned away and sat back onto his horse before leaving. He had thought at first that Thorin's threats weren't real but after witnessing how he had treated Luna, he had understood that something was wrong about him, something was terribly wrong.

"What are you doing?" Bilbo exclaimed while they were watching Bard go away. "You cannot go to war"

"This is not your concern" Thorin coldly replied.

"Excuse me but you think I shouldn't have noticed there is an army of Elves out there! Not to mention severely hundreds angry fishermen. We are, in fact, outnumbered"

"Not for much longer"

Bilbo's next phrase was cut short and he looked at Thorin in confusion. "What does that mean?"

"It means, master Baggins, that you should never underestimate Dwarves"

He then turned towards the others who hadn't said a word since the beginning.

"We have reclaimed Erebor. Now, we defend it" he darkly said before making his way down the steps and leaving them.

Kili finally freed himself from the others' grip and ran to Luna who was still half-lying on the ground. He let himself fall to his knees besides her and gently tipped her chin up to take a look at the red mark on her cheek. Anger was boiling inside him and he had to fight the urge to go after his uncle and confront him for what he had just done.

The young girl looked more shocked than hurt thankfully and she pushed his hands away.

"I'm so sorry" he whispered but she shook her head.

Dwalin put her back up on her feet and brushed the dust away from the back of her tunic.

"Are you alright, Luna?" Ori asked in a little voice and she nodded.

She cleared her thought and tried to compose her face. The confusion was quickly replaced by her usual impassible look on her face and she glanced around her to find them all staring as her as if waiting for her to give out orders.

"Are we really going towards a war?" Dori asked.

She paused for a moment to look at the elves in Dale then slowly nodded.

"What should we do?" Bofur asked in an almost pleading voice which was very unusual with him.

She sighed and turned towards them again. From now on it was decided. She wasn't Thorin's captain anymore, she was _their_ captain and she would protect them.

"Prepare for battle" she said and although most of them looked either sad or afraid, they walked down the steps to go to the armoury.

Only Kili stayed. He looked at her with despair in his eyes. For the first time in his life, he felt completely helpless and didn't know how to make the situation better.

"I wish I could do something" he sighed in a sad voice.

"You can"

He shot her questioning look and she held out his hand to him which he took.

"Kiss me" she whispered.

And he did.

* * *

"Bilbo, I have a plan"

The hobbit turned his eyes towards the young girl, curious. They had been watching as the dwarves went into the armoury to get ready. He shot her a questioning glance but she slightly shook her head then nodded towards the others.

"Not now, I'll tell you when we'll have some more privacy" she whispered and he nodded.

"Master Baggins" Thorin suddenly called from the door of the armoury. "Come here"

The hobbit shot Luna a nervous glance but she gave the smallest of nods and he walked towards the dwarf.

"You're going to need this" Thorin said when he was in front of him, holding in his hands a thin and white chain mail. "Put it on. This vest is made of silver steel, _mithril. _No blade can pierce it"

Bilbo took off his coat and slipped the chain mail tunic over his shirt then noticed that they were all looking at him and he looked down at himself as well.

"I look absurd" he protested, "I'm not a warrior, I'm a hobbit"

Luna repressed a little smile from her face. Obviously, he had no idea of the worth of that present.

"It is a gift" Thorin said. "A token of our friendship. True friends are hard to come by"

Luna raised an eyebrow when the dwarf's tone considerably changed in his last words. Her suspicion only increased when he took the hobbit by the shoulder to take him further away and whisper words to him that she could not hear from where she was but that, from the look on Bilbo's face, were probably not rejoicing.

She saw that the hobbit was trying to reassure Thorin about something and bring him back to reason but the dwarf didn't even seem to hear him. He was somewhere else, probably down in the great halls with his treasure. The dragon sickness was now so strong in him that his mind had completely been taken away from reality.

They only parted when the dwarves walked out of the armoury in a line and passed between them, each and every one of them armed for war.

Luna watched them pass before her with a grave look on her face and she bit her lip when she saw Fili and then Kili dressed in armours. She had never really believed in that kind of things, but in this moment, she prayed to Mahal to keep an eye on them.

"What a royal gift" she said to Bilbo when he joined her after they had all gone away, Thorin included.

He still looked worried and definitely not convinced about it tough.

"What did he want?" she asked in a more serious voice that she kept down to a whisper.

"He thinks that he is betrayed, that one of the dwarves keeps the Arkenstone away from him" the hobbit sighed.

"He is now doubting his own men, those who answered his call for the quest and followed him all the way here. This is getting worse and worse"

"Well…he is not entirely wrong, is he?" Bilbo said, biting his lip and she slowly nodded. "What was your plan?" he asked.

"Bard is over there, in Dale and I don't doubt that Thranduil is there as well. They will avoid war if they can, especially the men, that's why Bard came to speak with Thorin today. Thanks to that, I believe there is still a way to avoid the war"

"What way? Thorin won't listen to them, he won't part from a single coin of his treasure, he told me so himself! What arguments could they bring forward that would make him change his mind?"

"The Arkenstone" she said with half a smile.

He looked perplex for a moment then his face lit up with understanding.

"Neither Bard nor Thranduil care for that stone which means that if they have it, they will be happy to trade it to Thorin against what they want" Luna explained.

"And Thorin would never refuse anything to get the Arkenstone back…" Bilbo whispered and she nodded. "If we give it to them, are you sure they will accept such a plan and propose a trade?"

"I have long observed both Bard and Thranduil. They are strong and will go to war if they need to but first of all, they are leaders and they care for their people. They will use any way to avoid war and this is the last one I can think of"

Bilbo thoughtfully nodded again. "And they need to have it before dawn, before the attack is launched" he added then, after a short pause, he whispered "I'll bring it to them"

She widened her eyes.

"Bilbo…"

"They need to have it as soon as possible. I will leave when night will have fallen and the others will be asleep, they'll never see me. I'm a hobbit, remember? I can go unnoticed if I want to, that's why Gandalf hired me in the first place"

"But…"

"Plus you can't go. You are their captain and right now, they need you more than ever"

She fondly smiled at him and squeezed his shoulder.

"We will wait until nightfall then" she said.

* * *

Night came quickly. It had already been dusk when the dwarves had left the armoury prepared for war so Luna and Bilbo only had to wait for a couple of hours until most of the dwarves were either asleep or away in the many halls and corridors of the mountain.

They had both quietly slipped away as soon as they had had a chance and had headed to the top of the stone wall from which Thorin had sent Bard away earlier in the day.

Luna solidly attached a long rope to a stone so that the hobbit could easily climb down on the other side of the wall and then run to Dale before the day broke in.

"We must hurry, I doubt many of the company will be able to find sleep on the eve of the battle and I'm afraid one of them might come up here for a walk and see us" she whispered and he nodded.

He turned towards her and gave her a shy smile.

"You are a very great captain, Luna" he whispered and she squeezed his shoulder.

"I try" she said with a little smile, shrugging her shoulder and he chuckled. "And you are the bravest person I've ever met" she added. "Bilbo, you deserve to be a guard of Erebor and if you agree, I would like you to become one…an honorary guard, of course, because you will want to go home someday"

"I don't know if I'm worthy of such an honour" he mumbled. "But it would be amazing to refer to you as my captain"

"That's it then, you shall be the first hobbit guard in the History of Dwarves"

He slightly bowed and then Luna's face became grave again.

"Bilbo, whatever happens, don't come back to the mountain after you gave them the Arkenstone. I still think that things may not go that easily tomorrow, even if Thorin accepts the trade, which he probably will. You will be safer in Dale"

He bit his lip and didn't reply.

"Come on, be on your way now" she pressed him but he suddenly hugged her and after a few seconds of surprise, she hugged him back.

"Take care" she whispered and he finally took hold of the rope and let himself quietly slip down the wall until his feet touched the ground.

From the top of the wall, Luna watched him turn away and run towards the ruins of Dale until he was out of sight.

"Farewell, my friend" she sighed.


	28. Through love and hate

_**Getting closer and closer to the end! A few more chapters and that will be it, I'm going to be so sad to end this story...I hope you will enjoy reading the last couple of chapters as much as I will enjoy writing them. As ever, thank you for your support and let me know what you think! **_

* * *

**Chapter XXVII : Through love and hate**

Luna discreetly came back to the room where the others were gathered. Fortunately, none had noticed her absence or Bilbo's, or at least they didn't question it. After all, they had other far more concerning things to worry about…

Only Bombur still had enough appetite to finish his plate and all the others pushed theirs away after taking a few bites then, they all went their own way to find a place to rest. Luna didn't linger there and quickly walked out. She hesitated a moment about where to go then her steps instinctively lead her to the captain's apartments.

She closed the door behind her and lit up some candles to bring a bit of light in the rooms. Night had fallen since a few hours and she closed the big curtains, wondering if Bilbo had already reached Dale by now.

She had had a bit of time to clean the place when Thorin had sent her away and she hadn't known what to do so she had just come here and gone through her family's stuff.

In the bedroom, she sat on the big bed with the little stuffed fox in her hand and let out a deep sigh. If luck was on their side, the war wouldn't happen. Otherwise, she would do everything in her power to keep the others safe, no matter the cost.

She got rid of her shoes and her tunic as well as of her arm bands and weapons. There were very little chances that she would sleep tonight but at least, she would be more comfortable with only her shirt and pants on. Just as she was about to get into bed tough, she heard a knock on the door that made her freeze.

Wondering who could come here at such an hour, she crossed the suite and slightly opened the door to find Kili standing behind it.

"Kili?" she asked, surprised.

"I…"

He looked a bit awkward but she opened the door and stepped aside to let him in then closed the door behind him. He looked around the place in awe for a few seconds.

"It's so beautiful in here" he exclaimed.

"Yeah, it's not too bad" she replied with a little smile. "But I haven't had time to completely clean it up tough"

"Still…"

He paused for a few moments and she watched him slowly walk around the room, looking at the portraits on the walls, the books on the shelves and basically every object that he found interesting.

"And to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?" she asked.

"Do I need a reason other than the fact that I love you to come and see you?"

She smiled and walked towards him when he opened his arms to her.

"Actually, maybe I had a reason" he innocently said.

"And what is that?"

"It's just that…" he looked awkward again and she raised an eyebrow. "Tomorrow we go to war and we don't know where we will be in twenty four hours…nor wether we will still be alive…"

"Kili…"

"It's true, Luna, everyone thinks it, even you. We are fifteen against a whole army of elves and one of men. I don't doubt that every single dwarf here is a confirmed warrior but regarding the circumstances, I am afraid we don't stand much chances"

She bit her lip. She wanted to tell him so badly about the plan she had made with Bilbo who had now probably reached Laketown and had given the Arkenstone to Bard and Thranduil as a mean of trade! But she couldn't, for the sake of everyone, this had to be kept secret.

"This is probably our last night and I…"

He paused again and sighed. He looked like he was interiorly cursing himself.

"I would like to spend it with you"

He felt her tense up at once and her face turned bright red. He quickly grabbed her hands and squeeze them to reassure her.

"I won't touch you, I swear! Not if you don't want to, but I just want to spend the few hours we have left at your side" he immediately added. "But if you don't want to, it's okay, I understand, just kick me out of here"

That made her chuckle.

"No, it's okay. I didn't want to spend the night alone in here anyway" she said.

He smiled and bent down to kiss her forehead.

"Come" she whispered, taking his hand and leading him into the bedroom.

He looked at the cradle in the room with a pinch to the heart then kicked his boots away, took his coat off and climbed on the bed on the other side of hers.

She curled up against him, her head on his chest and he put his arm around her before covering them both with the blankets.

"Can you promise me something?" she asked in a whisper.

"Anything"

"Whatever happens tomorrow, you must obey any order that I will give you"

She felt his body stiffen and at first, he didn't reply.

"Kili, promise me. Even if I am in danger, even if I am about to die, if I tell you to run, you run"

"How can you ask me that?" he muttered.

"Because I am your captain, I am there to make sure you are safe. You are my prince and much more than that, you are my One, I can't watch you being harmed or worse"

"It is reciprocal, Luna, why can't you understand that? You are my One too and I would go mad if something bad happened to you and I couldn't do anything to prevent it"

"What is not reciprocal is that you are the prince, and I am the captain, no matter the feelings we have for each other. We have already had this conversation, right? You are far more important than me and you still have family. Think about your mother, about Fili! What would he do without you? I didn't know my brother Logan for long but I remember how close he was to Lunkin. They were like Fili and you. When Logan died, I was too young to understand but now I realise that Lunkin was never the same…you can't make Fili go through that. Please, Kili promise me"

He paused again for a few seconds, a tear threatening to run down his cheek then he kissed her forehead.

"I promise" he whispered.

That was enough for now. She lifted up her face and allowed him to kiss her lips. Their kiss quickly grew more passionate once again and Luna soon found herself lying on top of Kili.

A low moan came from the back of his throat. Kissing her was making him crazy about her but he suddenly stopped when her hands made their way to his shirt and started to pull at it as if to get rid of it.

He looked into her eyes, a few inches away from his. Both were panting for breaths and their eyes were shining with desire.

"Luna…" he whispered but she closed the distance between them again and pressed her lips against his.

They rolled over on the large bed without even stopping their kiss and Luna found herself below Kili who feared that if he didn't stop kissing her soon, he wouldn't be able to do it anymore afterwards.

She pulled his shirt over his head and before he even knew he was doing it, he got rid of it. Now shirtless, he left her lips for a moment to kiss her neck then came back to her mouth.

They suddenly stopped again and Luna looked down at her chest where Kili's hand was resting. He took it off, finally realising what they were doing.

"Luna, I'm sorry, I…" he started.

"No" she cut him off and took his hand to put it back on her chest. "Do it" she whispered.

They were both aware that they were blushing and that their hearts were pounding so fast they feared it would explode.

"But…"

"Don't you want me?" she asked.

"Of course I do! More than anything right now"

"Then do it"

"I have no right to touch you"

"Kili" she sighed and cupped his face to bring it down to hers and touch her forehead with his. "You have the only right"

* * *

Luna woke up when the first rays of the rising sun landed on her face. She rolled over to escape them and found herself almost lying on top of a naked Kili who was also slowly waking up and who absentmindedly run his hand along her back.

The realisation of what they had done slowly came to her as she saw their clothes on the floor around the bed and she realised that they had broken at least a dozen of the most fundamentals laws of Dwarves. However, she couldn't care less. This night had been magic and after all, if Thorin had to blame her for loving Kili, she might as well make it worth her while.

Kili finally opened his eyes and turned his face towards her to kiss her forehead.

"We should get dressed and go before the others wonder where we are" she said after a little pause and he nodded.

"I wish this night had never ended" he whispered and she kissed him then they got up, got dressed, took their weapons and left the captain's chambers. She knew there was a reason she liked this place so much...

* * *

The others were already assembled in the entry hall, at the foot of the wall that closed the front gate. They were all armed and ready for war and as Luna's eyes were trailing on the company, she almost couldn't hold a gasp when her glance landed on Bilbo who gave her a little, awkward smile.

She took advantage of the fact that the others were busy talking to each other to take him apart.

"What are you doing here?!" she exclaimed. "How did you come back? And when?"

"I came back a few hours ago, you had left the rope I used to climb down" he replied in a whisper.

"I told you to stay in Dale!"

"I couldn't leave them! And I couldn't leave you, you're my captain now, remember? I am a guard, I can't abandon you now"

She had been about to say something but the words got stuck in her throat and she sighed. He really was the bravest person she had ever met.

"The Arkenstone?" she asked so low he had to read the word on her lips.

He nodded and she clapped his shoulder with a big smile.

"You are brilliant" she whispered then they had to gather when Thorin arrived and ordered them all to follow him on top of the wall. He was wearing a crown and a long, fur coat and had a bow in his hands.

They quickly walked up the narrow steps and when she arrived at the top, Luna's eyes widened in front of the whole army that now stood just before the sealed gates of the mountain.

Amongst all the Elves, Thranduil and Bard were coming towards the gates, the first one riding his elk and the second one his white horse.

They went forward until Thorin fired an arrow that hit the ground inches away from the elk's foot and Thranduil's eyes shot the dwarf a dark look but the two leaders stopped their rides.

"I'll put the next one between your eyes" Thorin threatened, fitting another arrow to his bow.

The company cheered. They were trying everything they could to bring a bit of comfort for themselves.

They quickly stopped however when the Elves all at once took arrows from their quivers and pointed them at the dwarves.

Thranduil raised his hand and again in perfect synchronisation, the elves put their arrows away.

"We have come to tell you : payment of your debts has been offered and accepted" the elven king calmly said.

There it was. Luna was almost holding her breath.

"What payment? I gave you nothing!" Thorin exclaimed. "You have nothing"

Thranduil turned his eyes towards Bard who looked for something in the inner pocket of his coat.

Luna bit her lip so hard that blood dripped down her chin but she didn't realise it. Around her; all the dwarves froze in shock and Bilbo shifted uncomfortably when Bard showed them the Arkenstone.

"We have this" he said, holding the stone in front of him so that they could all see that it was really it.

The young girl dared a look towards Thorin. He had lowered his bow and his face had paled. A strange shadow was passing in his eyes.

"They have the Arkenstone!" Kili gasped. "Thieves! How came you by the held of our house?"

"The stone belongs to the king!"

"The king may have it" Bard quietly said with a smile, "with our good will"

He put the stone back inside his coat and locked eyes with Thorin.

"But first, he must honour his word" he added more coldly.

Luna looked at her king expectantly. The moment she had dreaded all night had finally come.

The dwarf remained silent for a few seconds then he slightly shook his head.

"No…they are taking us for fools" he whispered and the young girl felt her heart miss a beat. "This is a ruse…a filthy lie!"

Luna's face wasn't the only one that discomposed. Balin looked shocked and despaired as well. Had the sickness really grown so strong that Thorin couldn't even recognise his precious jewel?

"The Arkenstone is in this mountain!" he yelled at Bard. "It is a trick!"

"It…it's no trick"

Luna closed her eyes and prayed that this last voice was just an hallucination but she opened them again, they had all turned in surprise to Bilbo who had stepped up towards Thorin.

"The stone is real" he added, making his way towards the dwarf who hadn't even turned around to face him yet.

The hobbit met Luna's glance for a brief instant and he ignored the warning look in her eyes that prayed him not to say anything.

"I gave it to them" he admitted.

Thranduil's face was impassible as usual but one would have given much to be able to read his thoughts at this very moment. Bard let out a little gasp and his eyes flashed from the elf to the company on top of the wall.

As for the dwarves, they were all staring at the hobbit in the most complete shock. Obviously, they had no idea what to do and were like frozen in the ground, unable to move. Their eyes went from him to Thorin who slowly turned to face the hobbit. His face was unreadable. He looked at the same time exhausted, hurt and uncontrollably angry.

"You" he muttered in a low and deep voice.

"I took it as my fourteenth of the share" Bilbo said.

Luna put a hand on the hilt of her sword, ready to intervene. Her eyes were passing from one to another, waiting, all her muscles tensed to the point where it hurt.

"You would steal from me" Thorin muttered again in the same low tone.

"Steal from you?" the hobbit repeated. "No…no, I may be a burglar but I want to think I'm an honest one"

The young girl slowly took a little step forward when she saw Thorin's face change into one of pure hatred.

"I'm willing to let it stand against my claim"

"Against your claim?" the dwarf hoarsely repeated. "Your claim! You have no claim, you miserable rat!"

He had yelled the end of his phrase and taken a few steps towards Bilbo, unsheathing his sword.

"I was going to give it to you. Many times I wanted to but…"

"But what, thief?" the king under the mountain spat.

"You are changed, Thorin!" Bilbo exclaimed with an accusing tone that they all wondered where he found the courage to use. "The dwarf I met in Bag-End would never have gone back on his word! He would never have doubted the loyalty of his kin! He would never have treated his captain like you do!"

"Do not speak to me of loyalty!"

He looked around him. Never had it been so clear that he wasn't himself, madness was consuming him.

"Throw him from the ramparts!" he shouted and Bilbo startled but none of the dwarves moved. They looked at each other uncomfortably.

Thorin looked at his company with disgust and rage in his eyes.

"Did you not hear me?!" he yelled, violently grabbing Fili by the arm but the young dwarf freed himself from his uncle's grip.

He looked around him again, anger radiating from him. If he could have gotten himself rid of the whole company right now he would have.

"I will do it myself!" he shouted and grabbed Bilbo by the collar to push him towards the edge of the battlements. "Curse you! Curse the day you came in this company!"

The dwarves all started to shout and tried to keep him from killing the poor hobbit that he was pining down on the edge of the stones with already half of his body above the ground several hundreds feet down but Thorin only froze when he felt the tip of a sword against his neck.

They all fell silent again and even Thranduil who wasn't missing anything of what was going on up there seemed surprised for the first time. The dwarves held their breaths as Thorin slowly turned his head and met Luna's fierce glance behind him.

"If you hurt my guard" she said, her voice full of threats, "I will make you regret it"

"Your guard?" he repeated with disgust, his voice shaking with anger.

"You heard well. Let him go"

"Else what?" he spat at her with an evil smirk. "You will kill me?"

She narrowed her eyes but didn't lower her weapon and he pushed Bilbo a bit closer to the edge.

"No!" she shouted but her voice was barely heard over the one that came from amongst the elves like thunder.

"If you don't like my burglar then please, don't damage him, return him to me!" the voice roared.

They all snapped their heads around.

"Gandalf!" Luna exclaimed, a smile brightening up her face despite the circumstances.

The wizard made his way between the elves and came forward to look up at the company, especially at Thorin.

"You're not making a very splendid figure king under the mountain, are you? Thorin, son of Thrain"

The dwarf shot him a glance of pure hatred.

"Let him go, Thorin. Bilbo has nothing to do with this" Luna insisted and he turned his eyes on her again, loosening his grip on the hobbit at the same time and the poor halfling was quickly grabbed by Fili and Bofur who hid him behind them.

"He gave them the Arkenstone" the king muttered.

"Because I told him to do so"

There had been a lot of shocking things happening or being said that day already but that one brought such shock on Thorin's face as never had seen before. He became so pale that he looked as if he had never seen the sun in his life. His lips trembled and such darkness settled in his eyes that he almost looked like a demon.

"Go" Bofur whispered to Bilbo in the meanwhile, pushing him towards the rope that was still attached to a big stone and this time, the hobbit didn't hesitate. He was still shaking all over and feared that his hands might lost their grip on the rope while he was climbing down to rejoin Gandalf.

"It was my idea" Luna added, finally lowering her sword now that Bilbo was safe.

It was a bad idea. Thorin's rage suddenly seemed to explode and he grabbed his own sword and slashed at the girl so quickly that she barely had time to take a step back to avoid being beheaded and the blade only scratched her face, leaving a little trail of blood running down her cheek.

"Thorin!" Balin shouted.

"Stop it!"

The young girl blocked the second blow with her weapon.

"Stand back!" she yelled at the others who were ready to intervene. "Thorin, I don't want to fight you, please, it was for your own good!"

"My own good?! What do you know of it, filth?! You pretend to be the captain! You pretend to be my friend's heir! But you are just a betrayer! You never deserved to bear the name of that line!"

"Thorin…"

His blows were coming from every direction, always stronger but she wouldn't fight back, she couldn't do that.

"I should have seen sooner what you really were! A traitor! You corrupted my nephew, you tricked him into believing he loved you! But all you truly wanted was to get to the treasure through him! You only ever wanted the Arkenstone for yourself!"

With another violent kick, he managed to disarm her and he put the tip of his blade against her throat.

"Die!"


	29. The darkest fears

_**Hi everyone! Sorry for the cliff-hanger in the last chapter, but I must admit I love them...  
Thank you so much for your continual support, I love writing for you! Please keep telling me what you think of the story, I love reading your reviews!  
Enjoy this chapter :)**_

* * *

**Chapter XXVIII : The darkest fears**

"Thorin, no!"

Luna held her breath but with a sudden, clattering sound, Kili stopped his uncle's sword with his own and stepped in between him and the young girl.

The glare he exchanged with Thorin was one of pure hatred.

"Don't you dare threaten her" he darkly said.

"Kili, out of my way"

"No"

The dwarves shifted uncomfortably and taking a quick glance around her, Luna caught the increasing worry flashing in Fili's eyes.

"Do as he says"

They all turned towards her, bewildered.

"Luna…" Kili started.

"Stand back"

"Listen to her" Thorin spat. "This is no concern of yours"

"No concern of mine?!" the young dwarf repeated, shocked. "It is no concern of mine if you kill the woman that I love?!"

"You don't love her" Thorin exclaimed, annoyed. "It's just an illusion from that witch"

"How dare you…"

"Kili!" Luna cut him short. "Stand back. Now"

"How can you…"

"It's an order"

"No"

"I said stand back!" she shouted and acting so quick that he didn't see it coming, she strongly pushed him towards Dwalin and Fili who, fortunately, had enough nerves to react and grabbed him firmly to keep him from interposing himself again between the two dwarves.

"No!" he shouted and Luna tried her best to ignore him and turn her focus back on Thorin.

"Finally a wise move" he murmured.

"Listen, Thorin, I don't want to fight you" she said and dropped her blade that fell to the ground with a clattering sound that wasn't loud enough to cover the dwarves' terrified gasps. "I know you can't see it but what I did, I did it for your own good and for theirs"

She took a deep breath.

"I am ready to bear the consequences of my acts and if you want to kill me then do it. But do it in front of them all"

They all held their breaths for the few seconds that followed and silence settled back on top of the wall and in front of the gates where the elves, Bard, Gandalf and Bilbo weren't losing a second of what was happening up there.

Thorin then slowly walked towards her and Luna didn't move. Fili was still strongly holding his brother back and he could feel him shake. Himself was terrified of what might be about to happen.

All of a sudden, the dwarf king knocked Luna down on her knees and brutally grabbed her by the hair to pull her head back and hold her still. She felt the coldness of his blade against her throat and heard the dwarves unsheathing their own weapons but they stood where they were when Thorin shot them the most terrifying glance they had ever seen.

"Your father probably taught you the three punishments for a captain who betrays his king" he spat at the young girl. "The dungeons, exile…"

He pushed his blade a bit more against her throat and a trail of blood ran down on her collar bone.

"And immediate death" he added in a whisper.

At that moment, she was sure she was going to die here and now and waited for the blade to cut her throat but it didn't come.

"I would gladly exile you because I never want to have to look upon you again but that would only please you, wouldn't it? You wish you could leave this mountain, granting you this wish wouldn't be a punishment"

She swallowed nervously. He was right. Exiling her would be the best thing he could do to her.

"And as much as I want to kill you right now, you don't deserve such a quick and merciful death"

So this left only one possibility and she stiffened. Now, she prayed he could just kill her now and be done with it.

He smirked at her.

"I know your fears" he murmured. "And they will kill you"

He looked up at the faces of his company.

"Dwalin!" he barked. "Take this traitor to the deepest cell of the dungeons! I forbid anyone to come near her! She will be left there and die!"

"No!" Kili shouted.

However, Dalin didn't move. His eyes were passing from Thorin to Luna and to Kili who he was still holding with Fili.

"Dwalin!" Thorin barked.

"Thorin, I can't…"

"Do as he says"

Once again, they all turned to Luna in shock.

"Lass…"

"If you don't, then I'll kill her now!" Thorin exclaimed and put his blade against her throat again.

"No!" the big warrior exclaimed. "No! I'll take her"

"That's better" the dwarf king said, ignoring his youngest nephew's desperate cries.

He all but kicked Luna towards Dwalin who bent down to pull her up on her feet. Bifur had come to replace him next to Fili to hold Kili back.

"Be back as quickly as you can. Do not linger with that traitor" Thorin spat. "And if you or anyone else tries to help her escape, I will kill her in front of you all and send him in her place to the dungeons!"

Dwalin shot him a dark look but lead Luna down the steps back inside the mountain.

As they went, Luna didn't even dare a look towards Kili, afraid that it might make her break down while now more than ever, she needed to be strong.

"Luna!" Kili shouted, his cry heart-breaking.

Then silence fell on them again. All were shocked by what had just happened , dwarves, elves and men alike. Bilbo even thought of climbing the wall back up to go and help the young girl but he knew he wouldn't be able to do much, except make it all worse.

Bard was the first one to clear his thoughts and come back to the purpose of all this, although he was shocked like all the others, maybe even more than some. He had ended up growing quite fond of Luna and had been happy despite everything that she had survived the dragon.

"Are we resolved?" he asked. "The return of the Arkenstone for what was promised"

Thorin didn't reply. They all waited in silence, fearing his answer. Instead, he just turned his glance towards a hill on his left.

"Give us your answer!" the bowman insisted. "Will you have peace or war?"

A raven came flying towards the top of the wall at that moment and landed on a stone next to Thorin. The dwarf stared at it for a moment then turned towards Bard again.

"I will have war"

He had barely said those words that a noise grew louder and louder. They didn't take time to realise it was the sound of hundreds, maybe thousands of feet walking in their direction. They all turned their faces towards the hill Thorin had been staring at and on its top arrived a whole army of dwarves.

* * *

"What is that?" Luna asked, suddenly stopping.

Dwalin stopped as well and turned his head towards the wall on the other side of the hall that they had now crossed. They listened in silence for a few seconds until there was no mistake possible : thousands of people seemed to have arrived in the plain and they could hear a loud voice that was probably shouting insults at the elves.

"Dain Ironfoot" she exclaimed.

"Thorin's cousin?" Dwalin's face lit up.

"He must have called to him for help…this is bad"

"Bad? We were fourteen against two armies, how can this be bad?"

"Because this new army is lead by the one my father used to call the_ trouble-maker_" she sighed.

Dwalin nodded and they paused for a few minutes, listening to what was going on outside then she shrugged her shoulders and nodded towards the corridor they had been about to step into.

"Come one" she said.

"Luna, we don't have to go…there is a room that I saw when we first arrived with a window not too far from the ground. It's small but ye aren't very big, ye'd fit through it. We still have time"

"No, Dwalin, I'm not going anywhere"

"But I can't just take ye down there"

"You can and you will. Please, don't make it any harder than it already is. I need to stay in this mountain, my job is far from over, especially with that war"

"But what will ye be able to do from down there?"

"Maybe Thorin will come back to reason soon enough and send for me" she shrugged her shoulders but she was absolutely not believing a word of it. "Let's go"

"Luna!"

They snapped their heads back to see Kili racing down the stairs, closely followed by his brother. The young dwarf had taken advantage of Dain's arrival to finally free himself from his brother and slip away from the group.

"Kili, come back!" the blonde dwarf was shouting.

He didn't listen tough and crossed the vast hall in a couple of seconds to throw himself at the young girl who he pulled close against him and closed his arms around her as if to prevent anything from taking her from him.

"It's alright, you're alright, we'll get you out of here" he whispered.

"Kili, what are you doing here?!" she exclaimed, gently but firmly pushing him away.

"Coming for you of course! I am not going to let you go into that dungeon!"

"Yes you are. Go back"

"What?!"

"I said go back. Before Thorin sees you"

"But…Luna!"

There was so much despair in his voice that it hurt her. She had ever wanted so much to go into his arms and let him take her away but she couldn't.

"It will be okay, Kili. I have to stay here"

"No it won't! You know it won't!"

She shushed him and it was her turn to pull him against her. She felt him shaking and tears were building up in his eyes.

"You need to trust me" she whispered.

"I…I can't let you die"

"You will be okay, Kili"

She cupped his face and gently kissed him.

From the moment she had stood against Thorin, she had forbidden herself to even look at him and even more when the king had condemned her to the dungeons. She had been afraid that a single look from him would be too much to bear and that it would break all the courage she had been trying to build up insider her.  
But now that he was here, she wasn't able to resist anymore. This was most likely the last time she would ever see him and she wanted to be in his arms and kiss him one last time before the end.

He let her do then answered her kiss and held her so close against him that she could feel his precipitate heart beats.

When they parted, he hugged her and she met Fili's eyes behind his shoulder. He hadn't been able to contain a few tears and even Dwalin, the big tough warrior, was struggling to keep a composed face when seeing the two young dwarves desperately clenching at each other one last time.

She gave a small nod at Fili who understood.

"I will always love you" she whispered, a single tear rolling down on her face.

Then, without a warning, she suddenly pulled herself free from his arms and before he could reach for her again, his brother strongly grabbed him and kept him from going after her as she turned her heels and all but ran into the dark corridor, followed by Dwalin and in a few seconds they were out of sight.

"Luna!" the young dwarf was shouting, the tears finally streaking down on his face and panic in his voice. "No, Luna!"

The reassuring words Fili was whispering to him in a broken voice and very unconvincing tone were not enough to calm him down.

* * *

The dungeons were even deeper than Luna had thought.

After half an hour of walking down towards the roots of the mountain, the only light they had left was the torch that Dwalin was holding and that sent strange, menacing shadows on the walls.

Luna was trying her best not to take a look inside the cells they were passing after she had caught a glimpse of a skeleton in one of them.

When they finally arrived to the point where they could go no further down, they stopped before a barred door ; the deepest cell of Erebor. Dwalin just stood there like frozen so the young girl stepped in the cell.

"Luna…" he started.

"Close the door" she said in a hoarse voice.

He didn't move so she did it herself.

"Now lock it"

"I can't…"

"Dwalin, do it. Lock this door then go. Leave this place and never come back here again. They need you up there"

"They need ye too"

"Please, Dwalin. It is an order. Am I not your captain?"

"Of course ye are!"

"Then listen to me and do as I say"

The dwarf swallowed nervously and with shaky hands, turned the key into the lock.

"Good. Now go"

"This is not over, ye know. We'll get ye out of here"

"Dwalin…"

"I'll speak with Thorin, and as soon as Dain learn that ye are down here, he'll come and get ye out himself"

She sighed. She really wished she could believe him.

"Can I ask you one last thing?" she asked.

"Anything"

"Don't let Kili do anything stupid"

"Ye mean more stupid than usual?" he asked with a little smile and she chuckled. "I promise"

"And on Fili? He doesn't want to show it but he worries a lot these times. For Thorin, for his brother,…"

"And for ye"

She shrugged her shoulders.

"I won't let them out of my sight" he promised and she gave him a little smile.

"My father was right, you know" she said. "You really are one of the bravest dwarves in this kingdom"

Was that the hint of a blush that appeared on the big warrior's cheeks beneath his beard? With the darkness around them, she couldn't be sure but that made her smile.

"If I had one day been told that I would be the one putting his daughter to death…" he muttered in a darker tone.

She reached for his hands through the bars and squeezed them.

"It is not your fault, Dwalin. I am grateful for everything you have done"

He paused for a little moment and looked at her hands. They were so small in his, how could he bring himself to abandon her here?

"Your father was the greatest person I had ever met…but that was before ye joined this quest"

It was her time to blush.

"He'd be proud of ye"

She gave him a shy smile.

"Go now" she whispered. "Before Thorin sends for you"

He nodded. The only way he could bring himself to leave her there was because he was certain he would come back soon to get her.

"I'll come back for ye" he promised but she shook her head.

"Go. Don't look back"

And he turned his heels to leave.

She stared back after him until the light he was carrying completely disappeared and she was plunged in the dark.

When even the sound of his footsteps had vanished, she finally allowed herself to break down and she slipped down to her knees, tears streaking down her face.

Her claustrophobia and fear of the dark were creeping up her spine, she had to do something to keep her mind busy. She remembered an old song from her family that her brothers used to sing to her whenever she was afraid as a child and started singing it softly. Never had the lyrics so well fitted the situation.

_"__Oh misty eye of the mountain below_

_Keep careful watch of my brothers' souls_

_And should the sky be filled with fire and smoke_

_Keep watching over Durin's folk"_

That's all she was able to sing before her sobs became so strong that all she could do was cry. Now she was alone, buried beneath the mountain, facing her darkest fears and death was coming her way.


	30. The mad king

_**Hi guys! I hadn't checked the data on this story for a little while and couldn't believe it when I saw that it has over 20 000 views and over a 100 favourites! Thank you so much to everyone, you don't know how happy I am to see that so many of you like this fic, it means a lot to me, especially because I am not writing in my native language!  
I hope I will keep on the good work for you until the end and offer you a final worthy of all the support you have shown me so far! Please, please, please, keep reviewing, I am always so happy to read your comments!  
As always, enjoy this chapter :)**_

* * *

**Chapter XXIX : The mad king **

Fili and Kili hadn't gone back to the top of the wall with the others, they had just stayed there, holding onto each other as if afraid to let go of the last thing they had in this place.

"She won't be alright, will she?" Kili muttered, biting his lip.

Fili couldn't answer his question and just shook his head.

At that moment, they heard footsteps behind them and saw that the others were walking towards them with sad looks on their faces.

"What's going on? Is Dain's army fighting off the elves?" Fili asked.

"No…Azog arrived as well with an army. The dwarves, elves and men have allied their forces to push the orcs back" Balin sadly replied.

"What?! We need to go and help them, quickly!"

"No" Thorin barked. "Everyone stay here"

Fili widened his eyes in shock and suddenly, Kili escaped his grip once again and took a couple of furious steps towards his uncle.

"Are you proud of yourself?!" he barked. "Within a couple of hours, you started a war, condemned your own captain to death and abandoned your people on the battlefield!"

"Kili…" Fili started but a look from his brother froze him where he stood.

He had known Kili ever since the first day he was born and as far as he could remember, there had never been a day where they had not been together. He knew him better than anyone, sometimes even better than himself yet right now, he was standing before someone he had never seen previously.

"You call yourself a king but what kind of king lets his people die like that?! Outside and inside of the mountain!"

"I don't want to hear a word of that traitor"

"She is not a traitor, uncle! You are the one who betrayed her!"

"She kept the Arkenstone from me!"

"And she was right! She did it in hope to bring peace upon us, contrarily to you!"

"Your judgment is blinded by your affection for her" Thorin sighed.

Kili paused for a moment as his words got stuck in his throat.

"My affection?!" he exploded again and all of a sudden, he launched himself towards Thorin.

Fili was too bewildered by what he was seeing to react at once and truth be told, he wasn't sure he wanted to put himself between his brother and his uncle right now.

It was Bifur who had the reflex to stand between the two and stop Kili.

"I do not have affection for her, uncle, I LOVE her! Can you not understand that?!" the young dwarf yelled, struggling against Bifur's grip to get to Thorin. "No you can't, of course you can't! You have never loved anyone half as much as I love her in your entire life! There is no trick! No illusion! She is my One, she is my…my life! If you kill her, you kill me!"

A dark gleam passed in the king's eyes.

"I don't want to hear about her again" he icily said.

"You really think I'm just going to stand here and wait until she dies?! I'm going to get her out of there!"

"No" Thorin barked. "I said if anyone goes to her, she will die before your eyes and you will replace her in the dungeon. Is that understood?!"

"You're a monster!"

The dwarf shot one last dark look to his company then turned his heels to walk away.

"Don't you dare walk away!" Kili yelled but it was too late. "You should have let me go!" he added to Bifur in an angry tone.

The old warrior shook his head although he was as disgusted as the others of Thorin's behaviour.

"Bifur is right, what would you have done? It would only have made things worse" Balin muttered.

"I fail to see how it could be worse!"

"He could kill her now"

"The dungeons will kill her, can't you see?! Without food or water, she won't last more than a couple of days!"

"What did Thorin meant when he said that her fears would kill her?" came Ori's little voice in a hoarse tone.

Balin and Fili shared a look then the old dwarf shrugged his shoulder and let out a sad sigh.

"Luna is claustrophobic…and afraid of the dark" he said.

The others shared surprised looks.

"A claustrophobic dwarf?" Gloin repeated.

"But how will she ever be happy living inside the mountain then?" Ori asked.

"She won't" Fili sighed.

"We can't leave her down there!" Kili exclaimed again.

"No we can't" Bofur nodded. "But what can we do? If we try to get her out, Thorin will know it and it will be over"

"We can try and reason him, he can't be that mad as to let her die like that…after all, she is his best friend's daughter, isn't she?"

"I doubt he will think much from that point of view" Balin shook his head.

"Dain has arrived, soon enough, he will learn what happened and come to get Luna out himself!" Bofur insisted.

That seemed quite true and some of the dwarves strongly nodded their approval.

"Yes but Dain will be pretty busy for the next couple of days I fear…and as long as Thorin doesn't unseal the gates, no one comes in and no one goes out" Balin broke their little hope again.

"She doesn't even have that long" Fili said in an almost pleading voice. "You don't know how much she fears being locked in the dark underneath a mountain…she won't…she won't stand it!"

"We will go and talk to Thorin, and if he still doesn't want…then there will be no other choice than to stand against him" Balin said. "In the meanwhile, we need to wait"

That seemed to be too much for Kili and he suddenly turned his heels and ran out of the hall to disappear down a corridor.

Fili made a move to go after him but Oïn held him back.

"Let him be, lad" the healer sighed. "He needs some time alone"

Never had the young prince felt so helpless.

* * *

"Since when do we forsake our own people?" Dwalin exclaimed, angrily walking up the steps that lead to the throne where Thorin was sitting. "Thorin, they are dying out there"

He had learned from the others about the orcs' arrival and the fact that Thorin did not want to go and help Dain. The king was sitting there, alone in the huge hall and he looked as if he hadn't even heard what Dwalin had just said.

"There are halls beneath halls within this mountain" he whispered then stood up and anxiously paced around his throne. "Places we can fortify, sure up, make safe. Yes, yes that is it. We must move the gold further underground to safety"

"Did ye not hear me?" Dwalin exclaimed, stepping towards him again to lock eyes with him. "Dain is surrounded, they will be slaughtered Thorin"

"Many die in war, life is cheap but a treasure such as this can not be counted in lives lost. It is worth all the blood we can spend"

"Including your own captain's blood apparently" he coldly added and Thorin shot him a dark look.

"I said it already. I don't want to hear about her again" the king spat.

"Have ye really no consideration at least for Lain's memory? He was your best friend if I recall correctly. He sent ye his last heir to help ye reclaim Erebor which she did! Without her, we would never have made it here, ye know that Thorin…and yet ye sent her to the dungeons"

"Do not speak to me of Lain, she is nothing like him. She is a traitor, nothing more"

"She is a child! She…"

"Silence!" Thorin suddenly roared. "I greatly advise you to forget about her and if you can't then go and join her but never come back again"

They paused for a moment and Dwalin looked at his shield brother with great sadness.

"Ye sit here in these vast halls with a crown upon your head and yet ye are lesser now than ye have ever been" he sighed.

"Do not speak to me as if i was some lower dwarf lord. As if I was still Thorin Oakenshield. I am your king!" he barked, unsheathing his sword.

"Ye were always my king!" Dwalin exclaimed. "Ye used to know that once. Ye can not see what ye have become"

"Go. Get out. Before I kill you"

The big warrior sadly shook his head then turned his heels and left. There was no point in staying here anymore and try to reason with the mad.

* * *

Luna had thought that after some time, her eyes would grow accustomed to the darkness but she had been mistaking. On the contrary, it seemed that every passing minute plunged her even more into the dark.

The silence was so oppressing that the songs she had been singing to try and cheer herself up at the beginning had come back to her ears in terrifying echoes that sounded like the voices of all those who were dead down here and still haunted the dungeons. Just like her, they had been buried so deep under the mountain that their souls had never been able to find the way out and were now condemned to an eternity of errand among the deep dark cells.

She was struggling against herself to keep those thought away from her mind but she couldn't. They would come back every time and send shrills up her spine. The sight she had caught of the skeleton in another cell not so far from hers on the way here did nothing to appease her. Thorin had known what he was doing when he had sent her here. This was the worst way he could ever have found to punish her.

After the dark and the silence, the nightmares -and sometimes even the hallucinations, all caused by her fear- had come. Whether she was falling into an agitated sleep or lying wide awake on the ground, terrifying visions now haunted her more and more frequently. Some were so horrible that she sometimes found herself screaming in terror and her screams echoed against the walls to come back a hundred times worse to her ears.

She was so terrified and despaired that she had even stopped pushing the panic attacks away and just let them overcome her. She had quickly curled up into a little ball on the ground and didn't dare move. Even if she had wanted to, she wouldn't have been able to do so anyway. Her muscles were petrified and all she could do was shake.

Already, she had lost count of the time that passed. She could have been here for minutes, hours or maybe even days although she was certain it couldn't be more than two days, else she would be dead already.  
It felt like an eternity tough and she was just hoping for one thing now : that death would come quickly so that the nightmare would end.

"I…I am sorry, father…so sorry" she whispered in a sob, her voice shaking so much that had there been anyone to hear her, he wouldn't have understood a word.

* * *

Kili hadn't even thought of where he was heading to when he had left the others. There was no place yet in Erebor that really was his own, no place where he could go to to be alone.

That's why his steps had lead him to the captain's chambers even before he could realise it. He had loved this place from the moment he had seen it. It was spacious but not to the point where it felt too big. It was a cosy, comfortable place where a captain could find a well-deserved rest and enjoy peaceful moments with his loved ones after a long day besides the king. And with the huge windows that brought in as much light as possible, which was rare inside a mountain, this place had everything to suit Luna's needs.

That made him love this apartment even more. Finally, they had found a place where the young girl could be happy and feel like home and if she was happy, then so was he.

Besides, with the memories he had made with her in this bedroom last night, there was no way he could think ill of this place.

So that's where he had ended up to and he was now lying on the bed where he had woken up the same morning besides her. He could still see the sun coming through the windows caressing her smooth skin and her hair spread on the pillow as she was slowly stirring. He had thought at that moment that this was the sight he wanted to wake up to every morning and hadn't doubted that a few hours later, she would be condemned to die in the mountain, hundreds of feet underneath him.

His body stiffened when he heard someone coming but relaxed when he recognised Fili's way of walking.

The blonde dwarf made his way to the bedroom and sat on the edge of the bed next to his brother after looking with a pinch to the heart at the little unused cradle in the room and the stuffed fox in it.

"I'm only half surprised to find you here" Fili said after a little pause. "This place is very nice"

"She likes it"

"I can see why"

They paused for a little moment then Kili turned to face his brother.

"I was with her here last night" he said.

He didn't know why he was saying that so out of the blue but at least his brother should know. Plus, he needed someone to know that his love for Luna was real, he needed to be sure that someone believed him and that they weren't all thinking like Thorin that it was just an illusion.

"Where else would you have been?" Fili asked.

"That's not what I mean…we…we spent the night together…right here"

Fili frowned then realisation appeared on his face and he widened his eyes.

"You…you mean you two…" he started and he couldn't subdue a wide grin when Kili nodded. "Alright then, but first thing first, know that it won't change anything to the fact that you will always be my baby brother"

"Fili" he rolled his eyes and the blonde chuckled.

"You are aware that you broke at least a dozen of the most fundamental rules of our people tough?" he asked then, his face becoming a bit more serious.

"Well it seems that we live at a time where many fundamental rules are ignored" Kili shrugged his shoulder. "For example, do not kill an innocent"

Fili slowly nodded.

"I wish mother was here" he sighed.

Kili raised an eyebrow at him.

"She's the only person in front of which I have ever seen Thorin lower his eyes. If she was here, she would already have dragged him down to the dungeons to get Luna out of there himself and apologise a hundred times to her"

The ghost of a smile passed on the young dwarf's lips then his face grew anxious again

"Do you think she would approve of us?" he asked in a lower voice.

"Kee, mother loves Luna. She wouldn't approve of anyone else"

"I love her, Fee. Thorin is wrong, there is no trick, no illusion. I love her so much, why can't he see that?"

"He is blinded by the gold, he is not himself…"

"I swear, what I feel is real. I know it is"

"I know, Kee. We all know" Fili replied, squeezing his brother's shoulder.

They paused for a moment then Fili chuckled.

"What?" Kili asked.

"Nothing. I was just remembering the times when we were children and how you and Luna would always end up fighting at some point during the day then crawl into bed together at night whatever had happened previously"

"I told her once that I hated girls but that she was passable as a playmate" the young dwarf recalled with a little smile.

"It looks like things haven't changed that much"

"What do you mean?"

"You still fight during the day and crawl into bed together at night…although now it is not exactly for the same reasons" Fili said with a wide grin and got a little kick in the ribs from his brother. "We are going to get her out of there" he then added more seriously. "Even if we can't, we won't be the only ones who will stand against Thorin for this. I have a feeling Gandalf will show up soon enough"

"I hope you're right" Kili sighed. "I really do"

* * *

Alone. Thorin was now alone, slowly walking across the floor of a big hall that had been left with a thick golden layer covering the floor during their fight with Smaug.

Although he was physically there, his mind was in a whole other world and he seemed to not even be aware of where he was and what he was doing anymore.

Although the huge hall was silent, he could hear so many voices speaking on top of each other in his head that it hurt and he could barely make out what some of them said.

_"__Ye sit here with a crown upon your head and yet ye are lesser now than ye have ever been"_

_"__A treasure such as this can not be counted in lives lost" _

Images were flashing in front of his eyes, flashbacks of scenes that had happened a few hours ago or decades ago.

_"__A sickness lies upon that treasure" _

_"__The blind ambition of a mountain king!"_

So many voices, all mixing together in a whirlwind that threatened to carry him away forever.

_"__Am I not the king?!" _

_"__It is ours and ours alone" _

_"__I will not part from a single coin" _

The treasure, _his_ treasure. Why could the others not understand how precious it was?

_"__He can not see beyond his own desire!" _

_"__As if I was a lower dwarf lord"_

_"__Thorin…Oakenshield"_

_"__That sickness drove your grandfather mad" _

_"__Oakenshield" _

_"__This is Thorin, son of Thrain, son of Thror" _

Yes, he was Thorin. King under the mountain.

"I am not my grandfather" he muttered without even realising it.

_"__You are the heir to the throne, Thorin" _

_"__They are dying out there!" _

_"__Take back Erebor" _

_"__Dain is surrounded" _

Dain…his cousin, his own kin. He was on the battlefield, fighting the war _he_ had started and he, Thorin, was still here, in these halls, alone.

_"__Take back our homeland" _

_"__You are changed, Thorin" _

Bilbo was right. He couldn't recognise himself.

"I am not my grandfather" he muttered again.

_"__Is this treasure truly worth more than your honour?"_

"I am not my grandfather"

Then, two other faces appeared and replaced all the others that had been assaulting his mind. Two young faces that he knew well, the first one cheerful and with dark brown eyes shining with excitement at the idea of the quest and the second one beautiful but graver and with great dark blue eyes that could read his soul.

_"__My sword and life are yours until death takes me"_

"Kili…Luna…"

The faces changed. Kili's was suddenly full of pain and anger while Luna's was resigned but terrified.

_"__If you want to kill me then do it. But do it in front of them all" _

_"__She is my One, she is my…my life! If you kill her, you kill me!" _

"I could never hurt you, my sister's son…"

_"__You're a monster!" _

And underneath his feet, the dragon was worming his way through the golden layer, passing underneath him then, the floor collapsed and he fell.

_"__This treasure will bring your death!"_

He was trying so hard to escape the gold that was engulfing him, ready to take him forever but no one could hear his shouts, no one could come and help him.

Then, all of a sudden, the illusion stopped and everything became normal and quiet again.

Thorin slowly got to his feet, not recalling when he had fallen and looked around him, his heart pounding hard against his chest as if he had just run all the way from Dale.

Slowly, he raised his hand to the crown on his head and took it off. He briefly looked at it and stared at his own reflection on it then, he threw it away with disgust and it fell on the golden ground with a clattering sound.

For the first time since they had reached the mountain, his thoughts were clear again and he could breathe freely.

Thorin Oakenshield had delivered himself from the dragon sickness.

As he was taking deep breaths, he remembered one by one all the things that had happened for the past few days and his face turned to genuine horror when his thoughts turned to Luna.

"What have I done?" he muttered.


	31. Towards the end

**_Hi everyone, I'm so sorry that this update took a bit longer than usual but I have had a very intense week. I promise to try and update quicker!  
__Thanks to all of you, as always. I know I say this before every new chapter but that's because I can't thank you enough for your support. A big thanks to lizziecats for your looonnng review that I loved to read! I won't say a word about the end of the story so far, I want to keep it a surprise but I hope you'll like it! And Wolf In The Night 199, I am so sorry to kill you with every chapter haha :)  
As always, enjoy this chapter and let me know what you thought :)_**

* * *

**Chapter**** XXX : Towards the end****  
**

It took Thorin only ten minutes to reach the dungeons. Never had he run so fast. The torch he was holding was sending strange shadows on the walls around him and the deeper he was going down the mountain, the more he hated himself for sending Luna here.

She had never shown it but he knew about her fears. Dis had warned him before they had set out on the quest. His sister loved Luna almost like her own daughter. She had looked after her for a long time when the young girl was only a child and that her father and brothers had come with him to Moria and she had looked after her decades later when the young girl had come to them after the massacre of her family.  
The girl had never gotten rid of her fear of the dark and enclosed spaces and after the orcs had attacked and destroyed her house and family, it had been even worse. He knew that was the reason why she never slept alone at night and why his nephews always kept room for her between them to sleep.

And him, he had sent her to be killed by those fears. Kili was right, he was a monster. She had helped him, risked her life many times in this quest for him despite everything he had snapped at her and despite the loss of her family and the fact that she would never be able to consider Erebor like a home. She had even been so far as to keep his precious Arkenstone from him and give it to Bard and Thranduil in hope to avoid the war and protect the company, which he obviously was unable to do. And he had sent her to her death.

His heart was pounding in his chest. He wasn't scared of the dark and didn't mind behind under a mountain but this place, he hated it. It felt so cold and unfriendly that he would almost rather be on the battlefield right now.

He finally arrived in front of the last cell. The little form of Luna was there, curled up on the floor, her back to him.

"Luna" he called.

Panic ceased him when she didn't answer and didn't even move. Was he too late already? If he was, he would never forgive himself.

He hurriedly turned the key into the lock and precipitately kicked the door open before racing towards her.

He knelt down besides her. Her eyes were closed and she wasn't responding.

"No…" he muttered.

He gently turned her around and couldn't repress a relieved sigh when her eyes flickered open.

She started shaking and a few tears rolled down her face. She was obviously terrified by something she had seen while she had been unconscious and he took her against him to try and calm her down.

"It's alright, Luna. It's over" he whispered.

He had never been a good fatherly figure, or at least he had never thought so. He had always tried his best with Fili and Kili ever since they were young but never thought that he was good enough for them. Of course when they were younger, or even now, and that they were sad or in troubles, he always felt the urge to stand for them and protect them, and that's how he felt now for Luna.

He knew her since the day she was born, remembered her as a child. How could he have done this to his friend's daughter? To his nephew's One?

She calmed down a little bit and looked up at him. Terror had settled in her big eyes and she seemed to recognise him for the first time but to think that he was part of her hallucinations.

"Have you…have you come to kill me?" she asked in a voice full of hope but so low and so broken that he could barely make out the words.

"No"

With a pinch to the heart, he saw more tears appearing in her eyes.

"Please…please, kill me now" she begged. "Make it stop"

"No, Luna, I'm getting you out of here. Come on"

She didn't move. She was petrified by her fears and probably didn't believe him.

He took the torch in one hand and, only using his other arm, lifted her up. It wasn't very hard. He was strong while she was small and had gotten even thiner than at the beginning of the quest over the months and especially over the past few weeks.

She was still shaking tough and he knew that he had to leave this place as quickly as possible.

The further they went from the dungeons, the less he could feel her shaking and that brought a bit of hope back to his heart. When finally, they arrived back in the big halls of Erebor, she had stopped shaking and was slowly opening her eyes.

* * *

The company were sitting together in silence. Their hearts were too heavy to speak. Fili and Kili had come back with the others and were just sitting there, on big rocks, waiting for a miracle.

They all raised their heads when they heard footsteps. Thorin was walking towards them. He wasn't wearing his big fur coat anymore, nor his crown but what had the dwarves slowly stand up and stare at him in bewilderment was Luna who he was carrying in his arms.

He shared a look with them then knelt down and gently laid the young girl on the floor. The dwarves stepped closer and looked at her in worry, fearing that she wouldn't wake up but they sighed in relief when she slowly opened her eyes.

"Someone, go and fetch some water" Thorin said.

It was an order but it was said in such a different voice from the one they had heard for the past few days that some startled and narrowed their eyes then their eyes gleamed with hope but it is not before Thorin looked at them all that they understood he was himself again.

Ori ran as fast as he could to fetch the requested water while Kili was kneeling down on the other side of Luna, opposite to his uncle. All his attention had been focused on the young girl and he cupped her face. It was frightening to see how she had already gotten so pale and strengthless. She didn't even seem to fully be aware of what was going on around her.

"Luna" he called.

She opened her eyes again and saw him for the first time. Kili didn't know what he had expected but tears suddenly dwelled up in her eyes then rolled down on her cheeks and he held her against him when she reached for him as if begging him to take her into his arms.

The dwarves looked at the pair of them with great sadness. The young prince was slowly stroking her hair while she was sobbing against him, her face against his chest. There was more pain in her crying that they had rarely seen. It seemed to them at that moment that she wasn't only crying because she had been tortured by her fears, but she was crying almost for the first time for everything that had happened to her during the last year. She was crying because her father and last living brother had been brutally murdered along with all the people she knew, because the only home she had ever known in the hidden valley had been destroyed, because she was trying so hard to be the captain but never felt good enough and because she loved Kili so much it hurt.

"I can't…" she muttered in an almost inaudible voice to Kili who was heart-broken to see her like that. "I can't stay here"

"I know" the young prince whispered, placing a soft kiss on her forehead. "I'll go with you. Wherever you go, I will follow"

That, more than anything, broke Fili's heart and hopes at the same time. A silent tear escaped his eye. He knew that it was true. If Luna left Erebor, which seemed very likely regarding what she had just been through, Kili would go with her, leaving him alone, destined one day to sit upon the throne that he now hated so much and rule the kingdom without the two people he had done all of this with.

He hurriedly swept the tear away from his face and forced a smile on his lips. He looked at his brother and the young girl holding onto each other. They would be happy at last, and if they were, so would he be. Both of them deserved to go and be happy, to live together the life they wanted away from all this.

From the corner of his eye, he saw that Thorin was probably thinking just the same but would never dare anymore to ask them to stay.

Ori came back, running as fast as he could without spilling the water he had taken from a kitchen and he just briefly stopped in front of Oïn who poured the content of a little flask in it.

"What's that?" Kili suspiciously asked when he saw it.

"Something to help her sleep" the healer gravely nodded. "She needs it"

The young dwarf seemed to be hesitant for a few seconds but when he felt that she was starting to shake again, he nodded and brought the cup to her lips.

She turned her head away tough and tried to get away from it as tough it was causing her fear and he tried to shush her.

"Luna, love, it's alright" he softly said. "You need to drink this, you will feel better then"

He wasn't even sure at this point that she had heard him. While she had calmed down a little when Thorin had brought her here, she now seemed to be struggling against a panic attack and to see things that weren't real but still terrified her.

"Luna…" he whispered.

"I'm here, brother" Fili suddenly said, stepping towards them and kneeling down in his turn.

He nodded to him and gently but firmly held the young girl against him so that she wouldn't move and Kili could make her drink.

"It's alright, little sister" he whispered when more tears ran down her face while Kili was forcing her to drink. "You will be alright"

Oïn's potion was very effective. Almost right after she had drank the whole cup, she started to relax and in only a couple of minutes, she fell asleep.

Kneeling on the floor, Fili holding Luna against him and Kili not letting go of her hand, the brothers exchanged a look. At that moment, they had forgotten that the others were still there, standing around them and they couldn't care less for their presence when they held each other in a tight embrace, not letting go of Luna between them.

"Thanks" Kili muttered.

"She is your One, brother. And she is my sister. Nothing will take her from us"

The young dwarf nodded and then only did they remember the others and parted from each other.

Thorin was watching them and for the first time in their lives, he looked as if even he was about to cry. Some of the others were, including Oïn who was the first to move and step towards them.

"Will she be fine?" came Ori's shy voice.

"That lad, we will know when she will wake up. What is sure is that she needed rest but what else, I can not tell. It is not physical injuries that she has suffered"

Some of the dwarves couldn't help but shoot hard glances to Thorin.

"Bring her to her room" Oïn told Kili."Call me when she wakes. Then only will we know if it was too late…"

The young dwarf felt a lump in his throat but he nodded.

"What about Dain? What do we do?" Bofur asked.

They looked at each other and some dared a look towards Thorin again but the dwarf doubted they would obey him after what he had done.

"We will wait our captain's orders" Balin said, confirming his doubts. "If she has come back to herself when she wakes, then she will take the decision. Else, it will be up to us"

The others all nodded and Thorin knew they were right. From the whole company, Luna had proved a better leader than he was and he had no right anymore to command them.

While the dwarves were starting to talk in louder voices among each other, Kili carefully took Luna in his arms and stood up. He made a move to go then turned to Fili who was still kneeling there and raised an eyebrow.

"Are you coming or not?" he asked.

Fili's face brightened up a little bit and he followed his brother. For a moment, he had thought that Kili would want to be alone with the girl but obviously, he needed him now at least as much as himself needed Kili.

* * *

Kili carefully laid the young girl down on the big double bed of the captain's apartment and pulled the blankets over her. Both brothers then kicked off their boots and laid down on the bed on both sides of her. The bed was big enough for the three of them and it was as well : now more than ever, they needed to be together. It was just like when they were children and that they would sleep cuddled against each other because that comforted them. It had always comforted them to have the others' presence besides them. Of course, with the time, when Luna hadn't been there, Fili and Kili, growing up, had had separate rooms and Luna had also had a room of her own in the hidden valley and they hadn't minded. But as soon as they had started their quest, their ancient habit had naturally come back.

"Do you think she'll be okay?" Kili asked in a little voice after a long pause.

Fili didn't reply straight away and looked at the young girl's face.

"She is stronger than we think" he then said. "Hasn't she survived facing a dragon a couple of days ago?"

* * *

It took Luna more or less an hour to wake up. The brothers carefully watched her as she stirred and slowly opened her eyes. They both held their breaths, praying that she would be alright again and that Thorin hadn't been too long.

She seemed to take a couple of seconds to realise where she was and clear her thoughts then she slowly turned her head first towards Kili then towards Fili on the other side and frowned.

"Well this is a bit awkward" she sighed and Fili chuckled while a huge grin broke on Kili's face as he pulled her against him in a tight hug. She was alright.

The three of them sat up on the bed.

"How do you feel?" Fili asked.

She shrugged her shudders and waved his concern away.

"Just promise me one thing" she said.

"What thing?"

"If this ever happens again…please kill me first"

Fili swallowed the lump in his throat and Kili squeezed her hand.

"It won't happen again" came a voice from the other side of the apartment.

They snapped their heads around in surprise to see Thorin who was standing in the doorframe.

"May I come in?" he asked in an hesitating voice such as they had never heard on him.

He didn't look at all like the king he was. Actually, none of them had ever seen him looking so defeated and ashamed than he looked now.

"Sure…" Luna answered, shooting surprised looks at the two brothers.

He stepped in and awkwardly made his way towards the bedroom where he stood in the big doorframe. He absentmindedly smiled when he saw that his nephews were both with the young girl and felt very proud of them.

"I…" he started then sighed.

It was a very strange sight than the one of an insecure and awkward Thorin who was struggling to keep a composed face and not stare too much at his feet.

"How are you?" he asked.

"I'll be fine"

Her reply had come out a bit colder than she had planned it and she bit her lip but he slowly nodded and seemed glad to hear it.

"Luna…" he started then sighed again and helplessly shrugged his shoulders. "I know that what I did is unforgivable. The way I acted with the company but especially with you is horrible. I don't have any excuses but the irrelevant one that I was blinded by the gold. I…"

He seemed to be looking for his words for a few moments. The other three just stared at him in silence, shocked by his apologies and sudden humbleness.

"I just want you to know that I sincerely regret all of my words and acts. It is not you who should have had to prove yourself as a captain during this quest but instead I who should have had to prove myself as a king. We have been doing it all wrong this entire time"

He took a step forward.

"I am not asking you to accept them but I would like to give you my most sincere apologies for everything I've done. You are the greatest captain I could have hoped by my side but I have been blind. I have no right to ask anything from you again but what I am about to ask is not in my name but in the others'. Would you please take up your role just once more and lead them on whatever path you judge the best? I am in no position to order them now and they need you"

There was a long pause during which the three heirs of Durin expectantly stared at Luna. The young girl didn't turn her eyes away from Thorin, even when she slowly got up and took a few steps towards him.

"_My sword and life are yours until death takes me_" she spoke in Khûzdul, "remember? Those were my vows. I don't think death has taken me yet, right?"

Fili and Kili both looked shocked but that was nothing compared to the expression on Thorin's face. The brothers even really thought he was going to shred some tears this time.

"You have always been my king, Thorin, and will always be. You fought back the dragon sickness and went back for me, that's proof enough to me that you are the king my father always used to describe" she said. "I am by your side, ready to fight"

There was again a little pause then the dwarf respectfully and gratefully bowed his head, not able to find the proper words to say.

"Balin was right" he then said with half a smile.

"About what?"

"I could never have hoped for a better match than you for my nephew"

Both Kili and her blushed but they couldn't subdue the smiles on their faces. For the first time, Thorin was alright with their relationship and there finally seemed to be an issue to this whole thing.

* * *

The rest of the company was still gathered in the entry hall of Erebor, waiting for news from Luna. Dwalin had just been about to go and get some himself when they heard footsteps down a corridor.

They all snapped their heads around to see Thorin, his nephews and the young girl walking towards him.

The king was walking at the front and right beside him was Luna. The two princes came after them and read the surprise on everyone's faces when they saw Thorin and the young girl walking together.

"Luna?" Ori called in a shy little voice and she gave them all a warm smile.

"I have no right to ask this of any of you" Thorin started, looking humbly at his company, "but will you follow me one last time?"

The dwarves's eyes passed from him to Luna for a little moment until Ori was the first to stand and grab his weapons. The others imitated him one by one and Thorin gratefully nodded.

"So then, what now?" Bofur asked.

Thorin turned towards Luna and all eyes landed on her. She looked at the faces of the company and took a deep breath.

"Now we go to war"

* * *

All the dwarves had started rushing here and there to grab enough weapons and get ready. Bombur had run to blow the big horn of Erebor which would be their signal and Dwalin, Oïn and Nori had prepared a huge golden bell to be released and destroy the wall that they had themselves made with rocks to seal the front gate of the mountain.

Luna was watching them running in every direction, shouting at each other and getting ready for the ultimate end of their quest.

"Luna?" a voice called behind her.

She wasn't surprised to find Kili. He had a concerned look on his face that made her frown.

"What is it?" she asked and he took her hands.

"I suppose it would be in vain to ask you to stay here in safety?"

"Kili, I'm not leaving the dwarves now. I'm your captain, remember? Everywhere the line of Durin go, I should go, especially if it's towards danger"

"I know" he sighed. "At least I gave it a try"

He cupped her face and touched her forehead with his.

"When this is all over, we will go wherever you want" he whispered as she closed her eyes. "We will be happy"

"As long as you are with me, I don't care where I go, I _am_ happy"

Maybe they should have thought of all the others who could see them standing in the middle of the hall but they didn't and Kili brought her face to his to press his lips against hers. If ever this was to be his last day and that he didn't come back from the battle, he knew his last thought would be that kiss, so sweet and passionate at the same time.

When they parted, Fili came up to them. He was ready and waiting for the signal as well. He put his arms around his brother's and the young girl's shoulders and brought them towards him until their foreheads touched.

"Promise me to be prudent, both of you" he whispered.

"Aren't we always so prudent, brother?" Kili asked with a little grin.

"Everything will depend on the two of you" Luna said more seriously. "If you are reasonable and don't do anything too stupid or reckless, then we will be fine. Else, it will become difficult for me to make sure you stay alive and be prudent at the same time"

Kili swallowed the lump in his throat.

"We will try" Fili nodded.

At that moment, they heard the first sound of the horn and everyone in the hall paused for an instant then rushed towards the gates where Thorin already was.

"Ready?" Luna muttered to the brothers who nodded. "Stay together"

They rushed to the others and took their places at Thorin's sides. The dwarf nodded and grabbed his sword.  
Dwalin cut the huge rope that was holding the bell and it fell, completely destroying the wall on its passage and unsealing the entry of Erebor, revealing the battlefield in front of them.

The sound of the bell ringing and the horn blowing echoed in their ears and they knew that it was heard as well all over the battlefield and in Dale where Bilbo and Gandalf were snapping their heads towards the mountain with bewildered looks on their faces.

Luna briefly turned her head and met Thorin's eyes. They exchanged a look and she nodded.

"To the end" she whispered.


	32. Bad omen

_**Hi everyone! Here is the first chapter concerning the battle! I hope you'll like it, I personally am not too happy with it...but I think the next one will be much better ;)  
Thank you for your continual support, as always! I am so happy to write for such wonderful people!  
Enjoy :)**_

* * *

**Chapter XXXI : Bad omen **

The company shouted war cries as they sprinted out of the mountain towards the battle.

Dain's army had gathered before the gates and the dwarves made a way for their kin from Erebor when they passed.

"To the king!" Dain roared. "To the king!"

And, like in a dream, the whole army joined them as they threw themselves at the orcs.

"_DU BEKAR!_" Thorin yelled in Khûzdul as he sliced the head of the first enemy that he reached.

The shock was violent and brutal but the dwarves' strengths were renewed and Luna shouted in Khûzdul as well as she threw herself into the battle.

She slashed at an orc and spun around to kill another one coming from behind her. She had to duck to avoid being beheaded and kicked her opponent's legs from underneath him.

She felt stronger than ever but at the same time, she had never been in such a battle. Usually, the orcs they fought weren't more than a dozen. Now they were thousands. For each enemy she got rid of, three more raced towards her.

She was trying as well to keep an eye on the others. Thankfully, Thorin seemed to be doing great and the brothers were fighting back to back as always, pushing all the orcs that came near them away.

"Dwalin!" she shouted when she saw that the dwarf had just been disarmed.

She grabbed a little dagger tied to her leg and threw it at the orc that was raising his blade about the warrior to kill him. The dagger it the enemy straight in the chest and he collapsed.

Dwalin nodded to thank her and quickly picked up his sword to go back to battle.

She suddenly hissed in pain when an orc took advantage of her distraction and slashed at her leg. She spun around to face him but stumbled and fell to the ground as blood was dropping down to the ground from her tight. She looked up and saw her enemy smirking at her, ready to kill her when an axe suddenly embedded itself in his skull.

She snapped her head back to find Dain with a proud look on his face from the good aim he had just taken.

He walked towards her, picked up his axe and helped her up.

"Laïn's daughter!" he exclaimed. "The last time I saw ye, ye were but a baby"

"Thank for saving me, my lord" she said, humbly bowing her head.

"Come on, no civility between the captain and me" he exclaimed, clapping her on the shoulder. "Why haven't ye all joined us from the start?"

"Things were a bit messy inside the mountain but I'm sure Thorin will be more suited to answer your questions"

"Ye're right, go and look for the boys" he winked at her then turned around and, cursing at the orcs, went back to battle.

* * *

The battle was so intense that it didn't take long for Luna to lose sight of the others and she cursed under her breath. The fights had driven her further and further away from the mountain and she was now closer to Dale.

She tried for a good ten minutes to go back the way she had come but quickly had to admit that it was impossible this way. There were too many orcs blocking her path and each fight lead her in another direction.

"My lady!" a voice suddenly called.

She killed the orc that she had been fighting and spun around in surprise. A rider on a horse was coming towards her, slashing at the enemies around him.

She couldn't repress a gasp of surprise when she recognised Haleth, the elf that she had befriended in Rivendell what felt like an age ago.

When he arrived next to her, he offered her his hand.

"Allow me" he said and pulled her up on his horse as soon as she took his hand.

"How many times do I have to tell you I'm not a lady?" she asked with a grin, happy to see him again.

"Once more probably, my lady" he replied with a smile. "How is your friend, the young dwarf prince?"

"Actually, he is more than a friend now"

Haleth's face brightened up.

"I always knew it" he said, his smile widening.

They had to focus again on what was going on around them and defend themselves against the orcs that were trying to kill them.

"Let's go elsewhere" Haleth said, taking the reins of his horse.

They rode to a place a bit further where, under the cover of rocks, they could speak more quietly and not worry about the enemies.

"What are you doing here?" Luna asked.

"I came to find you"

"From Rivendell?!"

"Yes. My lord Elrond saw that this battle would happen"

"I doubt he could have done much to prevent it"

"Indeed. But he saw something else as well"

She raised an eyebrow at him. She had a feeling he was about to say something she wouldn't like to hear.

"What was it?" she asked.

Haleth took a deep sigh and locked eyes with her.

"He saw death" he said in a low voice. "Death for the dwarves…death for you"

She froze at this.

"As soon as he has had this vision, he called for me and described it to me. A battlefield such at this, in front of the gates of the mountain. Dwarves, elves and men allied against orcs. Then, on a stone, as cold as ice, the captain of Erebor laying on a pool of blood, pierced by a black blade, snowflakes slowly falling around her and landing on her fire-like hair. And in the South, a shadow was growing"

Luna swallowed the lump in her throat.

"Maybe the vision wasn't true. This may not happen"

"Visions seldom lie" Haleth shook his head. "That's why I came. To bring you back to Rivendell with me"

"What?!"

"We need to go"

"No!" she exclaimed, louder than she had thought.

He frowned at her.

"But…"

"I am not leaving!"

"Luna…"

"I am their captain. I shouldn't even be here right now, I should be over there on the battlefield"

"Please…"

"They are my people. I am not going anywhere"

"But you will die!" he interrupted her.

"Then be it. But if I die, it won't be without fighting, I swear it"

"Luna…"

She took his hands.

"I appreciate your concern, Haleth. But you must understand that I will never leave them, especially not in a battle. Maybe this vision wasn't real and I promise you to be extremely careful"

"I have already witnessed what your definition of careful is and I am not sure it reassures me"

"I can't go. Kili is over there"

He sadly nodded.

"Of course. You love him"

"More than life"

"I hope you won't have to give it up for him…"

She didn't reply.

"Can you ride to Dale?" she asked him. "There, you will find a hobbit"

"Bilbo Baggins?"

"Yes. Please keep an eye on him and tell him I'm okay"

He nodded.

"Search for me after this battle is over. If we are still both alive, then we will celebrate"

"I hope we will"

"Go now"

He nodded and climbed back on his horse.

"Be careful. If you die, I won't forgive you for not listening to me"

She nodded and as he left towards Dale, she raced back into the battle, decided to find the others.

* * *

When he arrived in Dale, Haleth found that the men's strengths had been renewed by the arriving of Thorin Oakenshield's company on the battlefield and they were valiantly fighting the orcs back. He saw that even the women had taken part in the battle.

He rode his horse amongst the ruins of the city, slashing at the enemies that stood in his way, until he caught a glimpse of a long grey beard and a pointy hat.

"Mithrandir!" he exclaimed and, as expected, the hobbit was besides him, bravely pushing the orcs back.

The elf took his bow and shot an arrow that killed an orc who they had been struggling with.

"Haleth" Gandalf muttered. "What are you doing here?"

"My lord Elrond sent me after a vision he had shortly after your departure a few months ago"

"What vision was that?"

The wizard frowned. If a simple vision had forced the lord Elrond to send someone all the way from Rivendell, it must have been very bad.

"Death, Mithrandir. The captain's death"

"Luna…"

He nodded.

"I tried to talk to her already, nothing will dissuade her from going to battle"

"So she's there? You've seen her?!" Bilbo asked, stepping forward and his face brightening up.

"Yes, she is there. She lead them into battle"

The hobbit and the wizard exchanged a relieved look.

"So Thorin came back to reason soon enough. I'm so glad to hear it" Gandalf sighed.

"Didn't you hear me? We need to find her" Haleth insisted.

"If she went back into the battle, our chances of finding her now are very low and she did not follow you, she won't follow us either"

"But…"

He was suddenly interrupted by a loud clattering sound just behind him and spun around to find Bard who had just stopped an orc's blade from killing him. The man quickly got rid of the enemy and turned to face the elf.

"For the time being, master elf, you should worry more about your own safety" Bard said. "That young woman survived a dragon that launched itself at her, she is capable of surviving a battle"

Haleth bit his lip but he had no time right now to reply : a whole new group of enemies were racing towards them.

* * *

In the meanwhile, Luna was plunged back into the battle, slicing any orc that came too close to her. So far, there had been no sight of Kili, Fili or even Thorin until she heard the sound of beasts galloping on the ground coming closer and closer.

She snapped her head around just on time to see precisely those three people plus Dwalin riding Dain's war goats towards her.

"Luna!" Kili shouted.

She nodded and quickly took his hand when they passed by her and he pulled her up onto his ride without even stopping.

"Where have you been? We were looking for you!" the young prince exclaimed above the noise of the battle around them.

"I was with Haleth"

"What?!"

She couldn't help a laugh at his discomposed face.

"What in Durin's name is he doing here?" he exclaimed while Fili was struggling to not laugh.

Luna's smile faded when she recalled what he had told her and she just shrugged her shoulders.

"He wanted to see you again" she teased him and he rolled his eyes. "Where are we going?"

"To put an end to all of this!" Thorin exclaimed.

She looked up towards the destination they were heading to and bit her lip when her eyes landed on the tall rock formation of Ravenhill from the top of which Azog was commanding his army.

"Let's go then" she murmured.

* * *

They had once again more or less managed to push the orcs back and Bilbo was trying to catch his breath, when he caught a glance of four shapes moving quickly away from the battle towards a big rock formation with its top covered in ice.

"Gandalf!" he called, recognising the people riding what appeared to be four big goats. "It's Thorin!"

The wizard slashed at one last opponent then turned his glance in the direction the hobbit was pointing at and narrowed his eyes.

"And Fili and Kili…and Dwalin. Luna's there too. He's taking his best warriors"

At the mention of the young girl, Haleth turned around as well and a flash of worry passed in his eyes.

"To do what?" Bilbo asked.

"To cut the head of the snake"

"Azog…" Haleth whispered.

"Gandalf!" a voice suddenly called.

They all snapped their heads around and saw a white hose galloping towards them with its two riders : Legolas and Tauriel.

"Legolas!" the wizard exclaimed. "Legolas Greenleaf!"

The blonde elf jumped to the ground and hurriedly walked towards him.

"There is a second army!" he gravely said. "Bolg leads a group of Gundabad orcs, they're almost upon us"

"Gundabad?" Gandalf repeated in a murmur, worry clear on his face. "This was their plan all along. Azog engages our forces then Bolg sneaks in from the North"

"The North?!" Bilbo exclaimed. "Where is the North exactly?"

"Ravenhill" the wizard darkly replied.

The hobbit's face took the same expression of worry and Haleth bit his lip.

"Ravenhill…Thorin is up there!" Bilbo said. "And Fili, Kili and Luna, they're all up there!"

Tauriel widened her eyes and exchanged a concerned look with Legolas.

"They are going to meet up with a whole army" Haleth muttered. "They are all going to die"

"No. They're not lost yet" Gandalf snapped.

He looked around him and caught a glimpse of Thranduil a bit further. The elven-king was looking in horror around him at the dead elves laying at his feet.

"Recall your company" he ordered one of his guards.

"My lord!" Gandalf called, running towards him. "Dispatch your forces to Ravenhill! The dwarves are about to be overrun, Thorin must be warned"

"By all means, warn him" the king coldly replied. "I have spent enough elvish blood in defence of this accursed land. No more" he snapped before turning his heels and walking away.

"Thranduil!"

But the elf didn't even turn around.

Gandalf sadly shook his head. He had to find an idea, a way to warn the dwarves before it was too late.

"I'll go"

He almost startled at the voice and his eyes landed on Bilbo who had witnessed the scene.

"Don't be ridiculous, you'll never make it" the wizard argued.

"Why not?"

"Because they will see you coming and kill you!"

"No they won't. They won't see me. Plus I am a guard of Erebor now, my duty lies both to the king and the captain"

Gandalf sighed. This hobbit was brave but had gotten almost as stubborn as the dwarves.

"It's out of the question. I won't allow it" he said in a tone that meant the conversation was over.

"I'm not asking you to allow it, Gandalf" the hobbit replied, shrugging his shoulders.

And before he could do anything to stop him, Bilbo gave him a little smile then he was off.

* * *

Thranduil was already making his way out of Dale, gathering what remained of his soldiers when his path was suddenly blocked by Tauriel who was standing in his way.

"_You will go no further"_ she said in elvish, her voice full of threats._ "_You will not get away, not this time"

She had heard his exchange with Gandalf a bit earlier and witnessed how he had refused to go and help the dwarves who were in grave danger.

"Get out of my way" the king spat in an icy voice.

"The dwarves will be slaughtered!" she exclaimed, not wanting to believe that he could be so insensitive.

"Yes, they will die" he sighed in an irritated tone and taking a few steps towards her. "Today. Tomorrow. One year hence. A hundred years from now. What does it matter? They are mortal"

That was enough. Without even thinking of what she was doing and allowing herself to be carried away by her anger, Tauriel grabbed her bow and in a fraction of second, fitted an arrow to it and aimed it straight at Thranduil who looked shocked and terribly angry.

"You think your life is worth more than theirs but there is no love in it" she spat, tears in her eyes."There is no love in you"

As quickly as she had drawn her bow, he grabbed his sword and cut it in two in one movement then he put the tip of his blade against her throat and she gasped.

"What do you know of love?" Thranduil spat. "Nothing. You think you care for those young dwarves but it's not real. Are you ready to die for them?"

With a clattering sound, his sword was suddenly drawn away by another and they turned to see Legolas staring at his father with a dark look in his eyes.

"_If you harm her, you will have to kill me"_ he threatened in elvish.

He then turned to Tauriel who was struggling against her tears.

_"_I will go with you" he said.

They didn't even spare one last look for their king and walked away.

Hobbits, elves and men. All were now united to save the lives of a bunch of dwarves that none of them had even met in pleasant circumstances. All there was left to hope now was that they wouldn't be too late…


	33. Ten minutes for a life

_**Hi everyone! I have a big announcement to make : this story will have two endings! First, I will post one for the people who won't read my stories anymore after the end of this fic and thus wish to have a proper ending for this story. Secondly, for those of you who would be interested in reading more about Luna's adventures, there will be an alternative ending that will be the start of another fic I'll be writing. Alright, I won't tell you more for the moment, I don't want to give too many spoilers and still wish to surprise you :) Just let me know whether you'd like to read more about Luna in another story.  
Also, don't worry, I'm not saying this because this chapter is already the last one, I still have probably a couple more to go so as always, enjoy this one and let me know what you think :)  
**_

* * *

**Chapter XXXII : Ten minutes for a life **

While their rides had been running up the rock formation of Ravenhill, Luna had kept a tight grip on Kili. She had unfortunately dared to glance down and she had not liked that at all.

As soon as they arrived on the top of the big rock pillar tough, seeing the orcs waiting for them filled her with rage and disgust and she all but jumped from the goat to land on one of the enemy and throw herself into the battle.

The four others did the same and in no time, they had gotten rid of all their opponents.

That didn't reassure them tough, on the contrary : they had only been one or two dozens and there was no sign of Azog.

Kili killed one last orc then joined the others who were gathered on the edge of a rocky platform on top of a frozen waterfall. For a moment, the only sound they heard was their precipitate breathings.

"Where is he?" Dwalin muttered.

Luna narrowed her eyes to try and see something in the fog but there seemed to be no sign of Azog.

"It looks empty" Kili said, looking at the place where the pale orc had been standing earlier.

"I think Azog has fled!" Fili exclaimed.

"I don't think so" Thorin muttered and Luna definitely agreed with him.

The dwarf king turned towards his nephews.

"Fili, take your brother. Scout out the towers" he instructed. "Keep low and out of sight. If you see something, report back. Do not engage, do you understand?"

The brothers nodded and Thorin turned his eyes on Luna.

"Go with them" he told her.

"Are you sure it's a good idea to go separate ways? Shouldn't we stay together?" she asked, worried.

"If Azog is hiding somewhere, waiting to strike, we will have more chances if we aren't all together in the same place. He will have to dispatch his forces if he even finds us all first"

She nodded.

"We have company!" Dwalin suddenly interrupted them.

They all turned around to see goblins racing towards them.

"Goblin mercenaries" the big warrior said. "No more than a hundred"

"We'll take care of them" Thorin exclaimed. "Go!"

Fili and Kili hurried in another direction while the two others were getting ready to face the new enemies. Luna lingered there for a few seconds, still unsure about this idea.

"Dwalin, stay with him" she said.

The guard nodded.

"Aye captain" he replied and she ran after the brothers.

* * *

"Be quiet" Luna whispered as they were slowly walking under the cover of rocks on the frozen waterfall.

They stopped for a moment and looked around them. They had to cross the ice to reach the other watch tower and that meant being in sight of anyone who would be around right now.

"I don't understand" Kili muttered. "Where could he be?"

"I don't know" Fili replied, keeping his voice low and shrugging his shoulders.

"I have a very bad feeling about this" Luna whispered, biting her lip.

For the first time, none of the brothers even thought of contradicting her.

They could still hear the sounds from the fight between Thorin, Dwalin and the goblins a bit further and thought that if orcs were watching them right now, their eyes were probably turned on that battle and not on them. Plus, it was foggy enough on the frozen waters to hide them from view if they were quick enough.

"Alright, let's go" Fili muttered.

They nodded and, as discreetly and quickly as they could, they left their hidden place and crossed the frozen ground.

Luna took a deep breath when they arrived on the other side and they quickly entered through an opening in the rock into the ruins of the ancient watch tower.

They paused again for a few seconds there and looked around. The place had many stairways and corridors going in different directions and again, everything was quiet. It even looked as if no one had come here for decades but the bad feeling Luna had grew even more.

"Something's wrong" she muttered.

"Kili, take this corridor and Luna that one. I'll go upstairs" Fili said.

"What?!" the young girl exclaimed, trying to keep her voice as low as she could. "No, Fili, we can't part now"

"We'll have more chances to go unnoticed if we go alone than if the three of us scout this tower together. The corridors aren't very large, we will be seen coming from far"

"But…"

"And this way, it will be faster. If orcs come, we will already be gone"

"It's not a good idea. What if one of you encounters Azog?"

"Fili is right. We will be fine, Luna" Kili said, squeezing her shoulder.

"What if you're not? I am supposed to protect you but it's impossible if I can't even be with you"

"You are and always have been doing a great job, captain. We are big boys now, don't worry. And the quicker we go, the sooner we will be together again"

"Thorin is expecting me to stay with you, why do you think he asked me to come along?"

"I don't think uncle would dare to question you anymore" Kili shrugged his shoulders.

"But we…"

"Listen, beautiful" Fili sighed, placing both hands on her shoulders to lock eyes with her. "The more time we lose arguing here, the higher the chances to be found by the orcs. Let's say we meet here in ten minutes. If one of us is not here then, we go and look for him"

The young girl bit her lip but she knew he was right. She may be stubborn but against the two of them, there was nothing she could do and indeed, they couldn't afford to linger here for too long.

"Except if it's me" she suddenly said. "If you two come back here and I don't, you immediately go back to Thorin and don't try to find me"

"Luna…" Kili started.

"If you don't agree at least to this then there is no way I am letting you go different ways now" she added, folding her arms against her chest.

"Alright. We promise" Fili nodded.

"What?!" Kili exclaimed but an insistent look from his brother shut him up.

"Okay then…let's go" Luna said. "We meet here in ten minutes"

They nodded then seemed a bit hesitant before going.

The three of them shared a glance then at the same time, reached for each other and hugged.

"Be careful" Fili whispered. "If something happens to one of you, I…I don't know what I'll do"

"You too, brother"

Luna nodded but couldn't find the words. Those two were all she had left and protecting them wasn't just part of her duty as the captain of Erebor but it was natural and she knew that she would fight for them until death if needed, just like brothers and sisters do.

"I'll see you in ten minutes" Fili whispered then he was off.

Luna and Kili looked at each other.

"I can't believe I agreed to this" she muttered.

"We will be fine my love" he whispered, pulling her close to him in a tight embrace.

She rested her head on his shoulder for a few seconds, enjoying the warmth radiating from his body and the always so fantastic sensation of his body against hers until he tipped her chin up to look into her eyes.

"Promise me to be prudent" he asked.

"You know I'm from the prudent kind" she whispered and he smiled.

He cupped her face and softly pressed his lips against hers.

"As much as I'd love spending these ten minutes kissing you instead of searching for orcs in the dark, I think we should go" she whispered afterwards and he nodded.

"Ten minutes" he whispered.

And they parted, both engaging themselves in the two different corridors.

* * *

In the meanwhile, Dwalin and Thorin had pushed all the goblins back and all they could do now was to wait for the three youngest to come back.

"Where is that orc filth?" Dwalin muttered, leaning against a rock, his arms folded against his chest.

Thorin was ready to answer him when a voice suddenly called him and he spun around in surprise:

"Thorin!"

The two dwarves stared in shock as the hobbit who had just appeared out of nowhere and was out of breath as if he had run on a long distance.

"Bilbo!" the dwarf king exclaimed, happy to see him.

He still had to apologise to him for what he had done and how he had almost killed him.

"You have to leave here, now!" the hobbit exclaimed, not even taking the time for greetings. "Azog has another army attacking from the North! This watch tower will be completely surrounded and we don't know when"

Thorin's face discomposed and Dwalin's eyes passed from him to the hobbit. He stepped towards his king when he saw the hesitation and resignation on his face.

"We are so close! That orc-scum is in there! I say we pursue!" the big warrior exclaimed.

"No! That's what he wants, he wants to draw us in" Thorin shook his head then turned his head towards the watch tower his nephews and Luna had headed to. "This is a trap"

* * *

Luna was slowly making her way along the dark tunnel, tightening her grip on her sword with every step she took.

So far, there had been no sign of the orcs and she was really starting to think that maybe she had worried too much.

There was a light in front of her, meaning that the tunnel was coming to an end into the open air and she decided that she still had enough time to walk until there, carefully look around for any sign of their enemies then turn around and go back to find Fili and Kili.

She walked until the end of the tunnel and found herself standing in the little opening on the side of the tower that was so old it looked more like a cliff now. On top of that cliff was the place they had left earlier where Thorin, Dwalin and Bilbo were still standing and at the bottom of it, at the foot of the tower, there was the opening of another tunnel and she saw Kili who had just come out of there look up and grin at her.

"See, there was nothing to worry ab…"

His phrase was suddenly cut short by the sound of drums coming from a second watch tower standing in front of them.

* * *

"Find Fili and Kili! And Luna! Call them back!" Thorin told Dwalin.

"Thorin, are ye sure about this?" the big warrior asked, hesitant.

"Do it" the king firmly nodded then added in a whisper : "We'll have to find another day"

Only Bilbo looked relieved. Thorin made a move to follow him when the sound of drums suddenly had him freeze where he was standing. Barely able to breathe anymore and fearing the worst, he turned around to look at an opening on the top of the watch tower on the other side of the little cliff they were standing on.

All of three of them ; Thorin, Dwalin and Bilbo plus Luna and Kili who were standing in the openings of their respective tunnels below them stared at the cliff facing them with terror creeping up their spines.

Luna couldn't repress a gasp when a huge pale orc appeared on the high platform, firmly holding Fili who was struggling against his grip, already covered in bruises and cuts that she knew he hadn't gotten on the battlefield.

"Azog" she gasped.

Above her, she heard Thorin's gasp of terror.

"Oh no" Bilbo muttered, following the dwarf to the edge of their respective platform.

The young girl put her hands against her mouth when Azog lifted the young dwarf from the ground with one hand and held him in mid-air.

"_This one dies first_" the orc spat in the black tongue while Fili was vainly trying to kick at him.

She had to find something, quick, an idea, anything to save the young dwarf but her whole body and her brain were frozen. It seemed that she wasn't even able to register what was happening.

Ten minutes, Fili had said ten minutes. She should already have gone back the way she came to meet the brothers in time but she was standing there, completely unable to move, watching Azog threatening Fili's life.

"_Then the brother_" the orc went on.

Kili. He was still down there. She had to go to him…no, she had to go to Fili. But how? He was about to be killed and there seemed to be no way to stop Azog right now.

"_Then you Oakenshield. You will die last_"

It had been a trap all along and they had fallen straight into it like debutants. Something, she had to find something now…

"Wait!" she shouted so suddenly that she surprised everyone, including herself.

She wasn't thinking anymore, she was just acting, doing what her instincts were telling her to do.

Azog turned his eyes towards her and his lips stretched on an evil smile.

"_You still think you can protect them, little girl?_" he smirked at her.

No indeed, she didn't. From the beginning she had never known whether she could protect them or not but the thing she had always been sure of however was that she would always do everything, absolutely everything to try and keep them safe.

"Take me in his place" she spoke firmly in a loud voice to be sure he could hear her from where she was, although it was unnecessary : their voices were echoing against the two facing watch towers.

Fili's face had only shown fear so far but when he heard her, he suddenly shot her a warning and worried look and she could read on his lips that he was telling her no but she decided to ignore him and kept her eyes focused on the pale orc.

"Let him go, him and his brother. What are they to you? It is not them you want most ; even if you kill them, the true king of Erebor and his captain will remain. Take me, I swear I won't fight but let them go" she begged.

There was a little moment of silence during which one could have heard everyone's hearts beating precipitately.

Kili hadn't dared look up at Luna and had kept his eyes locked on Fili. He was petrified with terror. On one side, his brother was about to be killed and on the other, the love of his life was offering herself in exchange of him. This couldn't be real, it had to be a nightmare.

Then, the silence was broken by Azog's terrifying laugh. He turned his eyes on Luna again.

"_So you want to die_" he spat.

"Go!" Fili shouted, still being held in mid-air.

It seemed that time had suddenly stopped for everyone. Thorin's eyes were fixed on his nephew and he weakly shook his head. He couldn't move either. His first heir, his sister's son, his nephew that he loved like his own child had been taken by one of their greatest enemies who was now attempting to his life and he could do nothing.

"_Do not worry, daughter of Laïn, you will die too_"

"RUN!" Fili yelled.

He gave one last desperate kick just before Azog brutally embedded his blade into his back.

"NOOOO!" Luna's cry was heard from the battlefield down below.

Thorin gasped. Bilbo stumbled backwards. Dwalin let out a strangled cry and turned his face away. And Kili might as well have been stabbed straight in the heart too.

"_Here ends your filthy bloodline!_" Azog exclaimed.

And he dropped Fili's motionless body from the top of the tower.


	34. One last fight

**_Hi everyone! I am soooo sorry for what happened last chapter, please don't hate me :( I was equally sad than you when I went to see the movie and saw Fili die and although it is something I wish I could change, I would feel terrible for not giving credit to Tolkien's masterpiece and change that...the only regret I had about the movie was that the brothers didn't die protecting their uncle like in the book but well, anyway it was still beautiful and so heart-breaking.  
__Also, probably not in the next chapter but in the one after that, there will be a scene that will hopefully cheer you up a little bit, I promise you :) But please don't hate me, I was sad writing the chapter too :(  
This chapter is a bit more descriptive, I hope you will still like it :) _**

* * *

**Chapter**** XXXIII : One last fight**

Shattered, that was probably the best word to describe how Luna's heart felt as she blankly stared at the form of Fili on the ground at the foot of the watch tower.

It couldn't be, that wasn't real. She wasn't even able to breathe anymore.

If that was possible, Kili was even worst. He stared at his brother's broken body on the ground just a few meters from him and was amazed that his own heart was still beating after witnessing Fili's murder.

_Fili's murder_…how wrong did those words sound, so wrong he couldn't quite assimilate them. And yet, the blonde dwarf's form was laying there where he had just fallen after being killed by Azog.

Azog.

The shock and incomprehension in Kili's heart were all at once replaced with more rage than he had ever felt in his entire life as he looked up and his eyes landed on the pale orc who was exchanging a murdering glance with Thorin.

It is only when the orc turned his heels to walk away tough that he found himself able to move and without even taking the time to think, he jumped out of the tunnel with a shout of rage and raced towards the other watch tower after Azog.

"Kili!" Thorin exclaimed, coming back to reality all at once and turning his eyes away from the spot where Azog had been standing a few minutes ago.

The dwarf king raced down the stairs to follow his nephew.

"Thorin!" Dwalin exclaimed, trying to follow him. "Thorin!"

Bilbo forced himself to turn his eyes away from Fili's form on the ground and stumbled backwards, still shocked and not quite believing what had just happened.

Around him, he could already hear the screeches of the orcs arriving on them and with shaky hands, he grabbed his dagger, still struggling to breathe normally. He was a guard of Erebor. He had to follow Thorin.

Only Luna had stayed where she was, standing in the opening of her tunnel, tears dwelling up in her eyes. She hadn't even reacted when Kili had gone after Azog, followed by Thorin. She hadn't really paid attention to tell the truth, all she could see was the motionless form of Fili down there on the ground and the scene of his fall was playing in her mind over and over again.

When she finally was able to move, she shakily climbed down the cliff-like wall of the watch tower they had been scouting until she had reached its foot and forced herself to walk to Fili.

"Fili" she muttered, kneeling at his side.

She gently put her hand on his neck to check his pulse and a sudden wave of relief hit her when she realised he was still alive.

At that moment, his eyes flickered open and a look of terrible pain appeared on his face.

"Fili!" she exclaimed.

"Lu…Luna…go"

"You're alive! Mahal, I thought you were dead, I thought you were…"

"Luna…"

She was so relieved all of a sudden that she burst into tears. She reached for his hand but stopped her move all at once when he winced in pain and she realised that he must have gotten many broken bones from his fall.

"It's alright, Fili, we'll get you out of here and bring you back to Erebor. Oh, I thought he had killed you! He…"

"Luna" he finally managed to speak in a voice loud enough to interrupt her. "He did…"

She widened her eyes and violently shook her head.

"What are you talking about? You'll be fine, I'm bringing you back to the mountain"

"Luna, beautiful" he sighed and she noticed how weak he sounded and that he was probably using his last strengths to talk to her. "Go…find Kili"

"But you…"

"Look at me" he murmured, wincing in pain.

She shook her head, she didn't dare. The tears were coming back into her eyes again.

"Luna, look at me"

She did, holding her breath and trying to push the tears away but when she saw that he was right, she couldn't resist much longer and the tears streaked down on her face.

A puddle of blood was growing all around him and she knew that even if the injuries had not been that bad, he had already lost enough blood to be beyond the point of saving.

There was a hole in his abdomen where Azog had pierced him with his blade that he had embedded into his back and the odd angle some of his limbs were making were enough to understand that almost every bone in his body was broken, most likely including his spine.

She could tell he wasn't able to move at all anymore and that he was struggling to keep breathing.

"Please don't die" she sobbed.

He couldn't move his arm anymore but she saw his fingers moving as if he was trying to reach for her so she took his hand in hers.

"I can't stand to watch the people I love die around me anymore" she added, crying for real. "You are like my brother, Fili, the last one I have, please don't die!"

"It's alright, beautiful" he muttered, struggling to keep his eyes open and squeezing her hand. "You're strong"

She shook her head, she didn't believe that anymore.

"I should have protected you. This should never have happened, I'm so sorry, it's all my fault"

"No…Luna, no. It's…"

He winced in pain again and coughed blood. He didn't have much time left.

"Go and find Kili. He is about to do something stupid" he whispered.

She nodded but didn't move. She wiped the tears away from her face. She hadn't been able to save him but she wouldn't let him die alone.

"You brothers would have been proud of you, you know" he muttered with a little smile. "Well…I am"

She smiled.

"Thank you, Fee" she whispered.

And slowly, his grip on her hand loosened and the light in his eyes disappeared as his chest was rising then falling one very last time. Fili, first heir to the throne of Erebor, was dead.

She bit her lip so hard to avoid crying again that it bled but she didn't care. She slowly bent over him to kiss his forehead and gently closed his eyes.

The sound of swords hitting each other brought her back to what was still happening around her and she got to her feet with only one thought in mind : Kili.

* * *

Although Thorin had found Azog before his nephew and was now facing him alone, Kili was still busy trying to push back the orcs that had just arrived from the North with Bolg.

Luna, swords in hands, was racing in the dark abandoned corridors of the watch tower to find him. Passing in front of a small window, she stopped when something caught her eyes and she stared in awe at Legolas who was using a giant bat as a ride, holding himself by keeping a firm grip on its paws, his feet dangerously balancing in mid-air.

Looking down, she saw a flash of red hair and guessed that Tauriel must have come with him and was fighting the orcs as well outside of the towers.

She was brought back to focus when a group of orcs appeared at both ends of the corridor and raced towards her.

The grief she felt for Fili had temporarily changed into anger and she could feel it boiling in her veins as she brought her blade down on the skull of the first enemy that came near her. She spun around with her twin blades and sliced through three orcs' abdomens at the same time.

She then ducked to avoid a blow and kicked another orc against the wall so hard it knocked him out.

Fighting with such rage, she got rid of all the opponents in a matter of minutes and when they were all dead, lying at her feet, she looked at them with disgust.

"That was for Fili" she spat.

Then a clattering sound had her snap her head around.

"Kili" she muttered and she started to run again in the direction the fighting noises came from.

She ran up some stairs and arrived on a little platform in the open air.

"Kili!" she called, hearing the noises of a fight nearby. "Kili!"

"Luna!" she heard his voice call back.

She turned in the direction it came from but before she could go much further, she was suddenly thrown against a wall by a massive kick on her side that she hadn't seen coming and she fell to the ground with a gasp of pain.

She looked up just in time to see a massive mace with blades crashing in her direction and she rolled over at the last second and jumped on her feet.

Bolg was standing in front of her, smirking at her.

"You" she spat.

"_No one will come to save you this time, little girl_"

And he launched himself at her again, his mace raised above his head.

It took all the strengths in both her arms to block his blow with her twin blades. He was definitely much bigger and stronger than her but she was quicker and at least as good at manipulating weapons.

They exchanged a murdering glance for a few seconds, blades against blades until all at once, Luna dropped to her knees and rolled between his legs, slashing at his calves as she passed.

He roared in pain and stumbled forward but it wasn't enough to make him fall and she had to throw herself aside to avoid his mace once more when he spun around and lowered it towards her.

She rolled over to avoid a second blow but wasn't able to escape the third one that he gave as she was standing up again and she was once more thrown against a wall. The shock of her body against the stone was so violent this time that some parts broke away from its top and she covered her head when the stones fell on her.

Although most of them were too small to really cause any harm, one was unfortunately big enough to break the bones in her shoulders as it fell on it and she cried out in pain.

She tried to push the pain away tough and extirpated herself from the debris and stood against Bolg again, this time only using one of her twin blade with her valid arm.

"Why do you get up?" the orc asked in the common tongue which felt so wrong in his mouth. "We could end all this here and now, it could be quick"

"A captain doesn't run away from a fight" she spat, shooting him her darkest glare. "Especially not from a fight against a scum like you"

He bared his teeth to her like an angry animal and launched himself towards her again.

This time she had only one arm left to defend herself and she gritted her teeth when the shock of their blades hitting against each other sent vibrations through her arm.

She wouldn't have enough strength to make him drop his blade just like that so she suddenly raised her knee and violently kicked him between the legs.

The was enough to make him loosen his grip on his weapon and he bent over, cursing her in black speech. She took advantage of that moment to slash at his wrist and with a shout of pain, he dropped his mace.

He quickly composed himself again tough and threw himself at her. She hadn't thought he would react so quickly and was surprised by his attack. She gasped in pain when his fist crashed against her temple and she would have fallen over if he hadn't caught her wrist at that moment and twisted it until she dropped her sword with another cry of pain.

It wasn't broken thankfully, else she would have found herself with two completely useless arms, but she could already see the skin becoming blue.

He didn't loosen his grip on her and grabbed her throat to lift her up from the ground and pin her to the wall so brutally she choked out for breaths.

He tightened his fist around her throat and she was really starting to struggle to breathe. Her hands flew to her tight where she always kept a dagger and before he could realise what she had been doing, she embedded it into his hand, forcing him to drop her with a roar of pain.

She fell to her knees but didn't have time to try and catch her breath : he was unstoppable and was already leaping towards her again.

She jumped aside to avoid him and spun around to violently kick him with her feet. He stumbled forward but turned around again and threw himself at her.

He took her in his run and they crashed against the wall, stones falling around them.

She cursed in Khûzdul and placed both her feet on the wall, then, she pushed as hard as she could against it until he stumbled backwards towards the edge of the platform.

She gave one final big push, grunting at the effort and Bolg fell backwards, taking her with him in his fall.

She felt herself falling in the air with the orc next to her and stones around them. She gasped in pain when she bumped on some of the broken walls and stairways of the abandoned tower and wondered if she was going to fall all the way down to the battlefield and die like that or if she was going to be lucky enough to be stopped before any real harm could happen to her.

Fortunately, the second option happened and she rolled down a stairway then her fall suddenly stopped on another little platform a couple of meters lower than the one they had previously been on.

She laid there for a few seconds, focusing to push the pain from her shoulder away. The brutal fall had done nothing good to the already broken bones and she dreaded the moment she would have to move her arm again.

She caught a glimpse of one of her twin blades that had fallen with them a couple of meters away from her but before she had time to even try and reach for it, a looming shape came over her and she looked up in horror to see Bolg brandishing his mace above his head.

"_Die!_" he roared.

She rolled over when he lowered his weapon but unfortunately that wasn't enough to completely escape the blow and she screamed when the mace crashed on her leg, probably smashing every bone and ligament and leaving trails of blood running down her leg.

Panting and her vision blurred by the terrible pain, she looked up in horror as the orc was raising his mace once more. This time, she couldn't move anymore. She was going to die.

She gritted her teeth when he lowered his weapon and waited for the shock but it didn't came : she suddenly heard a roar of anger and Kili jumped from the top of a close stairway straight towards the orc who stumbled backwards when the dwarf landed on his shoulders and started kicking at him.

"Kili!" Luna cried out.

"Don't you dare touch her" the dwarf spat.

Bolg brutally shook himself to make him loose his balance and he grabbed him by the back of his tunic. As if Kili weighed nothing, he brutally sent him crashing against a wall but the dwarf quickly got to his feet again and brandished his sword.

"Kili, go away!" the young girl shouted, trying to raise herself up.

"I lost my brother, I am not loosing you as well"

"So touching" Bolg smirked at them in the common tongue.

Kili launched himself towards him and the clash of their blades echoed in Luna's ears for a couple of seconds.

She watched them fight for a couple of minutes, desperately trying to get up but there seemed to be no way she could use her leg anymore.

She widened her eyes in horror when Bolg suddenly managed to kick Kili in the abdomen and the dwarf took a couple of steps backwards, bent over and his face torn in pain.

"Kili, look out!" Luna cried out when she saw his opponent raising his mace again.

The young dwarf looked up and tried to avoid the blow but he wasn't quick enough and Bolg's hit sent him to the ground.

"NO!" the young girl shouted.

Laying on the ground, a bit knocked out by the violence of the blows he had just gotten, Kili turned his eyes towards her who was trying to crawl towards him, leaving a trail of blood behind her.

The orc stood over the young prince and turned his mace around so that he was pointing its end straight at Kili's heart, ready to pierce it.

Some say that in extreme circumstances, one is capable of formidable things. That's what happened to Luna at that moment. Kili's eyes didn't leave her as Bolg was about to kill him and yet, he didn't understand how in a fraction of seconds, she was above him, her arms outstretched to protect him with her whole body while only an instant ago, she was on the ground unable to move.

It all happened very quickly, so quickly neither Kili nor Bolg understood how it had actually been possible. The orc lowered his weapon towards the dwarf who was laying on his back underneath him then all of a sudden, the girl was between the two of them, on her knees with one leg on each side of the dwarf and it was too late to stop his blow even if he had wanted to.

Time slowed down. Kili was staring at Luna above him in shock, their eyes locked. He saw in her dark blue eyes more love and determination than he had ever seen. He understood what she was doing and what was about to happen a millisecond before it happened but there was nothing he could do.

He thought he screamed her name but he didn't even hear his own voice as she took the blow that had originally been destined to him. He saw her face suddenly torn with pain and something that almost looked like surprise although she had known what was coming.

Maybe it was because time seemed to have stopped or because even Bolg was too bewildered by what she had just done to move but all three of them stayed still for a couple of seconds. Kili was still laying on his back on the ground, Luna was kneeling above him with one leg on each side of his body and Bolg was standing above them, his blade embedded into the young girl's body.

The young prince was petrified by terror. The young girl weakly smiled at him then closed her eyes and hissed in pain when the orc pulled his weapon out of her body. Her blood dropped on Kili's face but it is only when she collapsed next to him that the notion of time came back to him.

"Luna!" he yelled.

He had to roll over tough to avoid another blow from the orc who was determined to finish him off.

He stumbled backwards, trying to escape the mortal blows until he was blocked by a wall.

"Luna" he muttered.

"I killed your lover, dwarf"

"No…"

His eyes landed on the form of the young girl a few meters away. A puddle of blood was already enlarging around her. His legs shook and he fell on his knees. He had lost Fili and now, he had just lost Luna.

"You will join her now" Bolg spat.

Tears dwelled up in his eyes that never left the young girl. He knew he would have barely been able to live without Fili but if Luna wasn't there either, then he had no reason to fight anymore. It had always been the case. They had always been his reasons to get up and go back to battle. And now, all that had been shattered within an hour.

He looked up at Bolg, his eyes filled with rage. He was in no condition to fight anymore and didn't even have the strength to fight back when the orc lifted him up by the throat and placed the pointy edge of his mace against his thorax.

Just before the orc pushed his blade inside his flesh, Kili saw Luna raising herself on her elbows behind his shoulder and widened his eyes. The girl grabbed the very last dagger she had, hidden in her boot and threw it towards Bolg who had his back turned on her and saw nothing of it.

The dagger hit him straight in the heart at the exact same moment his blade pierced through Kili's chest.

Luna's very last strengths abandoned her and she fell back to the ground while the young prince was gasping in pain and collapsing in his turn.

Bolg roared when the young girl's dagger hit him then, with one last shout of anger, he fell and died with one last curse on his lips.

* * *

On the first watch tower, Bilbo slowly opened his eyes and grunted at the pain in his head. He had been knocked out during the fight with the orcs and as he came back to himself, he saw many huge birds in the sky above him, some chasing the bats the orcs had brought with them from Gundabad and some diving towards the battlefield down below to finish off the orcs.

"The Eagles are coming" he muttered and he let out a sigh of relief.

The battle was over.


	35. Eternal fire

_**Hi guys! Thank you for keeping on reading despite what I did in the last two chapters...but as I already explained, as much as I would love the end of the Hobbit to be different, I can't bring myself to change it just like that, I'm so sorry :( Although, as I promised, not this chapter but the next one will maybe cheer you up a little bit :)  
Also, from this chapter on (to be precise, from the last part with Tauriel and Legolas), this is the end of the story for those who do not wish to continue reading about Luna in another story that I will start afterwards. There will be one more chapter then an epilogue and that will be it.  
Then, I will post the alternate ending that will lead us to my second fan fiction. This alternate ending will only be one chapter but it will be clearer when I will effectively post it.  
Anyway, enjoy this chapter, I hope you will like it and that you still like me a little bit...**_

* * *

**Chapter XXXIV : Eternal fire**

Kili grunted at the pain exploding in his chest. It felt as if his thorax was being torn apart and he could already see his own blood on the ground around him.

He looked at Bolg's body next to him. For a moment, he almost expected the orc to stand up again but he didn't ; Luna had always been excellent at throwing daggers.

Luna…

His eyes landed on her little form a couple of meters away. He had feared she was already dead after Bolg had hit her but then she had raised herself up again and killed him. But then she had fallen again and now, she wasn't moving anymore.

"Luna…" he weakly called, trying to push the pain away.

He knew his time was coming to an end, the more blood ran down from his wound, the more he felt life escaping him and although it was terrible to admit it, he knew the young girl was just the same. Fili was dead, and now it was their turn and there was no way he wouldn't be near her for that moment.

Gathering all the strengths he had left and praying Mahal to grant him some more, he crawled towards her, leaving a red trail of blood behind him. The effort was intense and he was struggling every second not to scream in pain or black out.

After a time that felt like an eternity, he finally arrived next to her and dropped to the ground just besides her.

"Luna" he whispered.

For a moment, he feared he was already too late but to his greatest relief, she flickered her eyes open.

"Is he…is he dead?" she asked in a weak voice.

"Yes. You did it, you killed him"

She briefly nodded then her eyes landed on the trail of blood he had left behind him and on his chest where she saw the mortal wound left by Bolg.

"No!" she exclaimed, wincing in pain at the simple effort of speaking up.

She reached out to put her hands on the wound as if to stop the blood and looked terrified.

"Kili, you…" she started but he hushed her, gently cupping her face with one hand and holding her hands on his chest against his heart with the other.

"Leave it. It's alright"

"No, no it's not! I am so sorry" she mumbled, tears appearing in her eyes. "I should have stopped him! Just like I should have stopped Azog from killing Fili"

"Luna…"

"I failed, I am so sorry, Kili" she sobbed.

He suddenly pressed his lips against hers to shut her up. Although the move awakened his pain, the sensation of their kiss eased it instantly and it almost felt as if he was as healthy as could be.

He gently brushed her face with the back of his hand when they parted and looked in her eyes, their faces inches apart.

"Don't say that. Don't ever say that, my love. Nothing that happened today was your fault, on the contrary you did everything you could to prevent it. If we had all been wiser and had listened to you from the start, we wouldn't be here right now. It's not your fault, it's all of us'"

"Was I not supposed to keep Durin's line safe no matter what?" she whispered.

"You did. If you hadn't been there, we would never have reached this mountain from the start. And no matter how bad the situation was, you always agreed to put your life in danger to save ours"

"I can't entirely believe your words" she sighed.

"Alright then, shall I make a brief summary of the quest that brought us here and everything that happened to us for the past months?"

"Kili…"

"First of all, a couple of weeks after we had left the Shire, you jumped from a tree on trolls to save Bombur from being eaten alive"

"That doesn't count"

"Don't worry, I have a full load of times you were ready to give up your life to save us here"

"Come on, you…"

"Then, only a couple of hours after that, you basically threw yourself at a warg that was chasing us after pushing me into the safety of a cave and you stood alone against a whole orc pack"

"Lord Elrond arrived with some help, I didn't risk anything"

"There was also the time when you almost fell from a mountain during a storm to save Bilbo and then Thorin. If Dwalin hadn't caught you then, you would have fallen without even thinking of what you were doing"

"But he did catch me"

"Afterwards, let's see…oh yeah, you stood alone against Azog"

"Not alone, you all came afterwards"

"Then you pushed me out of the way of a giant spider to take its blow in my turn"

"You still got caught anyway"

"You almost drowned in a river to save me, once again"

"And then again, I failed to keep you safe, you got hit by Bolg and almost died" she whispered.

He reached for her hand and brought it to his lips then gently put a lock away from her face.

"But I didn't. Because you were there as always and fought weaponless against a group of orcs that were there to kill you. And of course, after surviving that, you had to get a dragon angry, just for the fun"

She chuckled and that made her gasp in pain. She coughed a bit of blood that he wiped away from her lips with his thumb.

"I have plenty of other examples but I'm afraid we won't have the time to go through them all" he said. "But know this…when I thought Smaug had killed you…for those terrible hours when I thought you were dead and I would never get to see you or hold you in my arms anymore, I…I realised that a life without you…and without Fili, is not a life worth living"

"Don't say that…" she whispered.

"It is true, Luna. If I had survived this war without the two of you, I…I wouldn't have been able to cope with it" he said in a lower voice.

She looked at his face for a few seconds then with her valid arm, gently ran her hand in his messy curls.

"I wouldn't have been able to live without you either" she whispered.

With great difficulty because it was causing her a lot of pain, she rolled on her side so that she was laying against him, her head resting on his chest and their legs tangled. He put one arm around her to hold her close to him and interlocked his other hand with hers, resting on his abdomen.

They stayed silent for a couple of seconds, just enjoying this very last instant together. Both could feel that already, their pain was slowly fading and they were starting to feel numb and almost sleepy. If this was dying, it wasn't that bad after all : they would just fall asleep in each other's arms like they had once wished they could have done every night for the rest of their lives.

"Luna…" Kili started again after a little moment in an even weaker voice that the young girl wouldn't have heard if she hadn't been so close to him.

She looked up and shot him a questioning glance.

"What is it?" she asked.

He paused for another couple of seconds. He seemed to be wondering whether what he was about to say was wise or not then just gave up weighing the pros and cons. After all, he didn't have time for that anymore.

"If we had lived through this, would you…would you maybe one day have accepted me as your husband?" he asked.

She was so taken aback by the question she opened her mouth to answer but no sound came.

"You don't have to answer this if you don't want to but…"

She softly kissed his neck to stop him then looked up at him again.

"I would never have accepted anyone else, Kili" she whispered. "If I could have, I would have spent the rest of my life with you…but as I can't, I am happy to die in your arms"

He blinked back a few tears and held her closer.

"Well then…I guess I could ask it properly. Luna, will you do me the honour of being my wife?" he asked.

She looked at him in surprise.

"Kili, I would have loved to but…it's a bit late, isn't it?"

"It's now or never. Will you marry me?"

She slowly nodded then smiled.

"Yes, I will" she whispered and it was her time to blink back the tears.

"Well then, I say we proceed"

She chuckled when he cleared his throat.

"Do you, Luna, daughter of Laïn, captain of the royal guard of Erebor, take this dwarf for your husband, love him in joy and sadness, in health and sickness and until…"

He stopped and seemed to be looking for his words. Saying "until death separates you" seemed a bit unfit to the situation.

"Until the end of time" she completed his sentence in a whisper. "Yes, I do. A thousand times"

He smiled.

"Will you, Kili, son of Dis, nephew and heir to the king under the mountain, take this woman for wife, love her no matter what and forgive her occasional stubbornness if she agrees to forgive yours?" she asked in her turn.

He chuckled and nodded.

"I do and will cherish her until Mahal's kingdom falls to pieces"

She smiled and kissed his hand.

"I, Kili, prince and heir of Erebor, declare us husband and wife until the end of time. I may kiss the bride"

She looked up at him and their eyes briefly met before he gently cupped her face and kissed her both tenderly and passionately. Their kiss tasted a bit of blood and probably risked to kill them quicker as they were both already struggling to breathe but none of that mattered.

All Kili could feel was that extraordinary feeling he had every time he kissed her and that sensation of tranquilly laying on soft grass while watching the stars on a warm summer night, with the air full of the scents of summer.

Luna, on the other side, forgot all her pain and melted into their last kiss. She wished it could last forever and if she died right now while kissing him, then it would be the most beautiful death she could ever have wished for.

When they parted, the young girl rested her head on the ground just besides his so that their breaths were still entangled and they were as close as could be. Plus, she didn't have the strengths to lay back down with her cheek against his chest anymore.

"I don't know what that was worth" Kili mumbled, "but it's better than nothing. The others will never know that we are married tough"

"It will be our secret" she whispered. "And I'm sure Fili is watching us from Mahal's kingdom with a huge grin on his face. Brace yourself for his teasing comments when we'll join him"

"So you really think it exists?" the young prince asked in a whisper.

"What?"

"Mahal's kingdom"

"Now is as good a time as any to believe in it" she shrugged her shoulders and he nodded.

They were silent for a little moment then, both felt that they were living their very last seconds as their last strengths were draining from them and they even found it hard to talk or even keep their eyes open.

Luna simply opened them when she saw big shapes flying above them.

"Kili, look" she called in a barely audible murmur.

He flickered his eyes open and looked at the giant birds flying over them towards the battlefield far below the platform on which they were laying.

"The eagles have come" she whispered.

"Does that mean…?"

She nodded with a little tear of joy rolling down her face.

"We have won" she said. "The dwarves will settle back into Erebor and the kingdom will become again what it once was. The quest is over"

Kili's lips stretched into a little smile and he tightened a little bit more his grip on the young girl.

After another couple of seconds, both probably felt that the time had come because they opened their eyes again at the same time and shared a long glance that silently spoke all the things they didn't have neither the strength nor the time to say anymore.

"Are you afraid?" Luna murmured.

He squeezed her hand that he was still holding against his chest.

"As long as I'm with you, I know it'll be okay" he whispered.

She nodded and forced herself to keep her eyes open just a little bit more and push the darkness away.

"Together?" he asked in so low a voice even she barely heard it.

"Together" she whispered.

* * *

Legolas and Tauriel had understood they had arrived too late almost as soon as they had come near Ravenhill. They had seen Thorin facing Azog alone on top of the frozen waterfall but had unfortunately been unable to go and help him with all the orcs that had stood before them.

When they had finally reached the first watch tower and found Fili's body at its foot, they had feared the worst for the other dwarves and had raced towards the second tower. Unfortunately, the fights were already over at that time and they could see the eagles flying over them and diving towards the battlefield to chase what remained of the orcs. The fact that they had seen neither Luna nor Kili coming back from the second tower while the fights were over had given them a very bad presentiment.

"This way" Tauriel said, pointing at a corridor in which they could see many dead bodies of orcs, proof that the dwarves had come here.

The silence that now reigned in this place did nothing to ease their fear of what they might find and indeed, after climbing a few more stairs, they arrived on a little platform in the open air and found the ones they had been looking for, tightly wrapped in their last embrace.

Tauriel gasped and covered her mouth with her hands while Legolas carefully walked towards the two dwarves and kneeled down next to them.

He checked their pulse to both although he knew it was unnecessary seeing the state in which they were and the terrifying amount of blood on the platform. He looked up and met Tauriel's questioning eyes. He knew that she didn't believe either that they could still be alive but was probably still hoping and he sadly shook his head.

"We were too late" he whispered.

"Look" she said, pointing at Bolg's body a bit further.

"They killed him…but at what cost?" Legolas muttered.

They turned their eyes again to the two lovers and looked at them in respectful silence for a few moments. The sight of the two young dwarves, dead in each other's arms, was heart-breaking and beautiful at the same time.

From what they could see, both had been pierced by the end of Bolg's mace ; Kili in the chest and Luna in the back and those had probably been the wounds that had killed them. On top of that, they both had many cuts and bruises and were covered in blood and one of the young girl's legs looked all but destroyed.

Their death had probably been long and painful but still, as they looked at them, the elves couldn't help but think that they had died in peace and maybe, yes, even maybe, they had died happy.

They were laying so close in their last embrace, Kili's arms still around the young girl and her fingers tangled in the fabric of his tunic, that they wondered if the dwarves who would come and find them would have the heart to separate them.

From the way their faces were so close to each other, their lips only millimetres apart, they had probably died after one last, gentle kiss.

Legolas put an arm around Tauriel's shoulder when a tear rolled down on her face.

"They look so peaceful" she whispered.

He nodded. How badly had he wanted them to live through this…

They looked up when snowflakes slowly started to fall around them and stayed silent for another couple of minutes until Legolas gently squeezed Tauriel's shoulder.

"Come on. We should go" he said. "Their kin will be here soon and find them"

She nodded but paused again before turning her heels to follow him.

She watched as snowflakes were landing in Luna's auburn curls spread on the floor.

"Their love is an eternal fire" she whispered. "It will never fade"


	36. All who took that road with me

**_Here we are...the last chapter (before the epilogue, which will be very short). I can't believe it's (almost) over...I started writing this story during my exams in December to change my ideas in the evening after a long day of studying and I thought that I would, at some point, let it go and that no one would really read it but here we are...I was actually sad to write these last chapters, I swear, and I'm so sorry for all the feels I made you all go through! Alright, I can't really find words that are good enough, so we'll say our goodbyes with the epilogue, and in the meanwhile, enjoy this last chapter :) _**

* * *

**Chapter XXXV : All who took that road with me****  
**

_When Luna slowly came back to herself, the first thing she noticed was that she was not laying on hard ground anymore but on soft grass. _

_There was a bright sun shining and it blinded her so she rolled on her side. That's only when she did so that she completely opened her eyes and her blood froze for a little moment. That move should have caused a terrible pain to flash through her whole body from all the wounds she had gotten, yet she felt nothing. _

_Actually, she felt rather good, even better than she had in a long time. She carefully poked at her shoulder where Bolg's mace had broken her bones and found it perfectly well. More and more confused, she bit her lip and attempted to move her leg that had been all but destroyed, bracing herself for the worst and she widened her eyes when she felt absolutely no pain at all. _

_She sat straight up and looked down at herself. There was not a trace of blood on her whole body and even more surprising, she was wearing a simple yet beautiful white dress that was so soft against her skin she could as well have been wearing nothing at all. _

_Her confusion growing with every minute, she looked around her and dropped her jaw in surprise when she realised she was sitting in a great meadow with the greener grass she had ever seen. In the distance to her right, she could see a huge mass of water stretching to the horizon. It looked so big it couldn't possibly be a lake but it was so calm at the same time that she knew it wasn't a sea. _

_To her left, at an equal distance, a huge mountain stood alone. She narrowed her eyes, never had she seen such a mountain, despite being a dwarf. She had always had a certain form of repulsion for mountains but this one was different, it seemed to be calling to her. _

_She looked around her again to try and understand where she was but there was no sign of Ravenhill not even Erebor -and the mountain in the distance definitely wasn't it. There were only the immense stretch of water and the mountain. All the rest was just grass until the horizon in every direction. _

_She noticed also how, while it had been cold on top of Ravenhill with the coming of winter in the North, the weather was very nice here. It was more than that actually, it was wonderful. The sun caressed her skin just the way she liked and a soft wind occasionally played with her long curls. _

_"Where in Durin's name am I?" she whispered to herself. _

_"Nowhere" _

_She startled at the voice and spun around. When her eyes landed on the one the voice belonged to, she gasped in surprise and covered her mouth with her hands. _

_She stared in absolute shock at her brother Logan smiling down at her. _

_He held out his hand to her to help her on her feet. First, she didn't move, she barely even seem to breathe. Then, all at once, she took his hand and jumped on her feet, throwing her arms around his neck and letting a few tears streak down on her face. _

_He looked a bit surprised at first but then answered her embrace and hugged her tightly. _

_"It's nice to see you too, little sister" he said with a smile. _

_She shook her head to chase the tears away then parted from him a little bit to look at his face, as if to make sure he was really there. Only then did she realise that he was dressed a bit like her : simply but nicely, and that he looked as good as she could remember ever seeing him. _

_"You…you…" she started but couldn't find the words and that made him chuckled. _

_"I missed you too" _

_She nodded. _

_"Oh Mahal" she sighed, trying to clear her thoughts. "Wait…if you're here…does that mean…?" _

_She looked up at him and he suddenly became a bit more serious. _

_"Am I…am I dead?" she asked, finally realising that it was the only plausible explanation to all of this. _

_"Not exactly" _

_She frowned at his hesitation. _

_"What does that mean? Where are we? And if I can see you, it means I'm dead, right? You are dead" _

_He chuckled. _

_"Some things never change, you still ask all your questions at the same time like you used to sixty years ago" _

_"And you still take an awful long time to answer them" _

_He shrugged his shoulders with a little smile. Never had she seen him so tranquil and at peace. He didn't seem to be in a hurry at all, he had all the time in the world. _

_"Please?" she begged. "Where is Kili?" _

_"Don't worry. He is over there" he said, pointing at the great mountain to their left. _

_"What is this place?" _

_He sighed. _

_"Kili is dead. He died from the wound Bolg gave him in the chest. The two of you were laying together on that platform on Ravenhill and you both lost consciousness at the same time, except that he died at once but you didn't" _

_"What does that mean?" she asked in a lower voice. _

_"He arrived directly over there, in front of the gates of the mountain, like most people do because he is dead, simply dead. Can't you guess what that mountain is? It's where I came from to go and find you here" _

_She widened her eyes. _

_"It can't be…" she started but he nodded. _

_"It's Mahal's kingdom" _

_She stared at it in a respectful silence. _

_"Why didn't I directly end up there as well?" she asked after a brief pause. _

_"Because you're not dead yet. Your wounds are terrible but they haven't killed you yet. You are here in this meadow because you are still hanging between life and death" _

_"But…how long will I be here for? I can't…I can't stay here!" _

_"You can't and you won't. I came here to tell you that the choice is up to you" _

_"The choice?!" she gasped. _

_He gravely nodded. _

_"Either you go right towards the sea, where a boat is waiting for you, either you go towards the mountain. If you choose the sea, the boat will bring you back into the world of the living. You will still be hurt and will probably take months to recover but you will live. If you pick the mountain, the second you step in Mahal's halls, you will never be able to leave it anymore. It is the world where those who go never return" _

_She widened her eyes._

_"Are you…are you asking me to choose between life and death?" she mumbled. _

_"Yes. And you must choose wisely. Life is precious, and yours could still be very long and full of beautiful surprises. But once it stops, there is no going back. Death, however, whether it is today or in two hundred years, will always come back for you. Whatever happens, you will sooner or later come back here and enter that mountain" _

_"But how…how can anyone ever make such a choice?" she gasped. _

_"That I do not know. Few are those who are actually given the choice, I wasn't" _

_She paused for a moment and looked right towards the sea. She could indeed see the little boat, waiting to take her back to life. If that's what she chose, Logan was right ; she was still young, there was so many things she would be able to do…maybe she could travel the world, free, like she had always dreamed of doing…but if she did, she would be alone. She would wake up with that terrible pain and would probably take months to even be able to walk again, if that ever happened. From the state her leg had been on, it would probably need to be cut off. And now, even Fili and Kili were dead, she didn't really have anything to hold on to anymore. _

_Her eyes turned to the mountain on her left. Death…she had no idea of what it was like. Would she be with Kili inside that mountain? She had no idea. It could be that she would just find herself alone in the dark forever, maybe that was what death really was. _

_If she chose life, then she would never be with Kili again and would only be able to cry on his tomb and if she chose death, she didn't know what would happen but maybe, just maybe, she would be given the chance to be with her One. _

_"I don't suppose you would answer any question about how it is inside there?" she asked. _

_He shook his head. _

_"You will see by yourself" _

_"How was it?" she suddenly asked, turning her eyes back on him. "To be separated from Lunkin in such a way?" _

_He raised an eyebrow. _

_"Being with Fili and Kili for the past year made me realise what I was too young to see at the time…you and Lunkin were just like them. It's only now that I realise how hard it must have been for him when you died"_

_"I…there are some things I wish I could change, for Lunkin but for you as well. When you die, you kind of forget what it was like when you lived. Some are not even grieved for those they left because they find peace…but for the past decades, I have never been able to stop thinking about you two and how badly I wish I could be with you. After all, whatever Lunkin probably said after my death, I was, am and will always be the big brother" _

_She smiled. _

_"That you will" she whispered. _

_"Alright" he said with another smile, suddenly looking towards the mountain. "It's time for me to go" _

_"Already?" _

_"Those who are death are normally never even supposed to leave the mountain" _

_She nodded, understanding. _

_He put his hands on her shoulders._

_"Whatever your choice is, little sister, I know it will be the best" _

_"Thank you" she whispered and before she could add anything or even hug him, he suddenly vanished and she was alone again in the middle of the great meadow. _

_She let out a deep sigh and turned her glance towards the sea._

* * *

_The huge doors had opened for her just at the moment she had arrived in front of them. The light coming from inside the mountain was surprisingly so bright that she hadn't been able to see what was inside and taking a deep breath, she had stepped in.__  
_

_She raised her arm in front of her eyes to stop the light from blinding her and walked slowly, unsure of her steps when suddenly, a strong hand firmly yet gently caught hers and lead her forward. _

_She let herself be guided and it's only when she heard the doors closing behind her that the light faded and she returned the owner of the hand's smile when she saw who it was. _

_"Kili" she whispered when he pulled her into a tight hug. _

_She noticed that he too was wearing those simple and nice clothes, the same kind that Logan had been wearing. _

_He cupped her face when they parted to look into her eyes. Rarely had she seen him so happy and tranquil. Her heart melted when he pressed his lips to hers for a gentle kiss and she pulled him closer to her. _

_"My love" he whispered between two kisses. "My sweet, beautiful love" _

_"I am here" _

_"And I thought death would at least spare me those kind of moments" a voice suddenly piped in behind Kili. _

_Luna snapped her head in the direction it came from and her eyes grew wide when she saw Fili standing there with a huge grin on his face. _

_"Fili…" she gasped and left Kili's arms to throw her arms around his neck and hug him. _

_He chuckled and looked at her. _

_"What took you so long?" he asked with a smile and she just shrugged her shoulders. _

_"I guess I was harder to kill" she winked at him and he teasingly pretended to punch her in the stomach then her eyes widened again when she saw two other dwarves looking at her with little smiles. _

_"I knew you'd join us" Logan said._

_"Always so predictable, little sister" Lunkin sighed. _

_"You mean like the time you didn't see that plate full of food coming straight at your face?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. _

_Logan let out a little laugh then the three of them reached for each other at the same time and wrapped themselves in a tight hug. _

_"I've missed you" Lunkin whispered. _

_"Looks like the gang's finally reunited" another, deeper voice came in. _

_They turned around. There stood their father, Laïn, looking better and stronger that she had ever seen him. He didn't even have his old wounds anymore and had gotten back the eye and the leg that he had lost in the battle of Moria. _

_"Father!" she exclaimed. _

_She had been about to run to him as well but she froze when she saw the person standing next to him, smiling at her. _

_"Thorin" she gasped. "You're here too?" _

_He nodded. _

_"I killed Azog" he shrugged his shoulders. _

_"I failed…I failed you all" she whispered. _

_"Luna, no" Kili firmly said, taking her hand. _

_"You never failed anyone, Luna. You were the best captain I could ever have wished for, it is me who have been too blind to see what was the right thing to do, just like you have always been able to see it from the beginning" Thorin said, stepping towards them and putting a hand on her shoulder. "I am the one who owe you an apology…or rather a thousand apologies" _

_She shook her head. _

_"Thanks to you, the dwarves will now be able to settle back in Erebor. This quest was a success" he added. _

_"Their king did this" she replied in a soft voice and he returned her smile then gave her a little bow. _

_"So, Logan…it looks like baby Luna got married before the two of us" Lunkin suddenly teasingly said while both the young girl and Kili turned bright red. _

_"You're right, brother. She beat us to it" Logan added. "It's a shame tough we weren't invited to the wedding" _

_"No one was, and it was hardly a wedding" Luna shook her head. _

_"Actually, Thorin died a little bit before Kili, which means that he was the king under the mountain when you said your vows…and as a king, he had the power to celebrate those kinds of union" Fili said. _

_The two young dwarves look at each other, both furiously blushing and the others, including Thorin, merrily laughed. _

_Laïn warmly hugged his daughter and the young dwarf at the same time. _

_"My daughter, I am so happy" he said. _

_"Thank you, father" she whispered with a smile. _

_"Luna?" Lunkin suddenly called in a soft voice, gently taking her arm to lead her a bit forward with Logan. _

_"There is someone we would like you to meet" the older brother said. _

_She looked at them in confusion then shot a look backwards at her father and the three others but they only smiled and Laïn nodded, emotion clear on his face. _

_She then followed her brothers' glances when she saw that they were looking at something in front of them and she fell silent when her eyes landed on a dwarf woman standing a few steps before her. _

_She had never seen her, but it was as if she had always known her, as if she had seen her everyday of her life. Her eyes probably couldn't recognise her, but her heart certainly could. _

_"My beautiful little girl" the woman said in a voice full of emotion, a smile on her face. _

_A silent tear rolled down on Luna's cheek where she had, in life, had a white moon-shaped scar left by Smaug the day of her birth, when he had taken Erebor. _

_"Mother…" she whispered._

* * *

So many people were present at the funeral that the huge hall of Erebor in which it took place was so crowded it was hardly possible to move. There were mostly dwarves of course, but for the first time ever, they shared their sacred halls and their grief with others, including elves.  
Legolas and Tauriel were there, as well as Haleth. There were also Bard with his children, as well as Beorn, Radagast, Gandalf and of course, Bilbo who didn't even have enough tears left to cry and was just staring, completely motionless at the four bodies.

A few words were said by Dain who had become the new king under the mountain after Thorin and his nephews' deaths, but even his grief was too great to be able to say much. All knew anyway. All knew that the four dwarves laying on the big stones before them were heroes and all were there to offer them one last homage and thank them for returning their home to the dwarves and saving so many.

Then, they were buried. Thorin with his sword and with the Arkenstone upon his chest. Both Fili and Kili were buried at his sides and with Kili was laid Luna.  
It had broken the dwarves' hearts when they had had to separate them to bring them from Ravenhill to here but they had been careful to lay them back together and make sure they would now spend the eternity at each other's side. It is thus with their hands holding each other that they were buried and Bilbo fought against a wave of fresh tears when he saw that the tombs had been made in such a way that a ray of sunlight coming from an opening high above them fell straight on the stone underneath which Luna was buried, as if the dwarves hadn't wanted her to be afraid of the dark even in death.

After that, a few words were said as well for those who had died during the battle and when, at the very end, the names of Laïn, Logan and Lunkin were mentioned, Bilbo remembered a promise Thorin had made Luna what seemed like an eternity ago, that her father and brothers' names would be remembered in Erebor long after their deaths.

It is vain to try and pretend that any of the former members of Thorin Oakenshield's company, that stood in a line at the very front, just in front of the tombs, kept dry eyes that day. Even Dwalin was crying and didn't even seem able to hide it as he accepted the slight comfort his brother Balin could afford him by standing at his side.

And, in front of the company, just besides the tombs, a hand resting on the stones as if letting go might make her fall, stood the lady Dis.  
She kept a straight back and composed face through the whole ceremony but it wasn't hard to know that inside, she was broken. She had come from the blue mountains, looking forward to hug her sons and her brother against her, as well as Luna who she loved like a daughter, and see that they were well but when she had arrived, all she had found were four bodies laying on the cold stones.  
She hadn't even heard the few comforting words some had tried to address her, until at the very end of the ceremony, when almost everyone had left, a little voice finally caught her attention.

"You were their mother"

She looked up to see Bilbo looking at her.

"They talked a lot about you, all four of them actually. They really loved you" he added in a voice weakened by how much he had cried.

He saw that she had something in her hand and struggled to keep a composed face when he recognised Kili's and Fili's rune stones that she had given them as a token of the promise they had made to come back to her.

"Look, I…I wish I was able to find the right words to say to you but…I don't think there could ever be any" he sighed. "I learnt a great deal about dwarves while I was traveling with them…it's actually been a while now, and these four were probably the most astonishing, remarkable people I have ever met. They knew what they were doing, they always have…sometimes they were afraid, of course, but they were always guided by things stronger than their fears. Things that I have no doubt you taught them all. Hope, courage…love…"

His voice shook and he didn't speak anymore, afraid that he might break down again.

Dis slowly walked towards him and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Thank you, little guard" she whispered before leaving.

Bilbo took one last look at the tombs and stepped towards them. He touched the cold stones of each one of them.

"I will miss you" he whispered.

Then he let out a deep sigh. It was time for him to go home.

* * *

The horns from Dale had reasoned in the mountain as a last homage to the fallen just before Bilbo walked out of the gates with Balin.

"There is to be a great feast tonight" the old dwarf said. "Songs will be sung, tales will be told. Thorin Oakenshield will pass into legend"

"I know that's how you must honour him but to me, he was never that. He was…To me…he was…" he mumbled but he was not able to find his words so he just shook his head and gave a sad smile to Balin. "Well I'll slip out quietly, you'll tell the others I said goodbye"

"You can tell them yourselves" the old dwarf softly said.

The hobbit looked at him in surprise then his eyes landed on the entrance of Erebor where the company had gathered and he chuckled.

He took a few steps towards them and fondly look at them all, looking for the right words to bid them farewell.

"If any of you are ever passing Bag-End…" he started, "…tea is at four. There's plenty of it. You are welcome anytime"

The dwarves slightly bowed to him.

"Oh and…don't bother knocking" he added.

"Ye too lad, don't forget she made ye a guard" Dwalin said. "Ye're one of us"

He nodded, emotion clear on his face then made a move to walk away.

"Bilbo, wait!" Ori's little voice suddenly called him.

He turned around to see the scribe stepping towards him with something in his hands.

"This is for you, I finally finished it. I should have given it to you earlier but with everything that happened, I hardly found the time to draw these past few weeks"

He handed him a parchment and Bilbo stared in bewilderment at the portray of himself Ori had promised to draw after they had left Rivendell an age ago.

"It's…it's great" he mumbled.

"And I have something else too"

The dwarf gave him another parchment and Bilbo fell silent when he looked at the portray of Luna, so beautiful and realistic that he almost felt like looking down at his feet when he met her stunning eyes that Ori had so well recreated.

"Wasn't this going to be her birthday present?" he asked.

"Yes, but I will never get the chance to give it to her now…and I finished it so I think you should have it. To remember her"

"I doubt I will ever forget her" he whispered then looked up at the dwarf and warmly squeezed his shoulder. "Thank you, Ori"

The scribe shyly smiled.

"Don't forget about your book" he reminded him and the hobbit nodded.

And the dwarves watched him leave with Gandalf until they had disappeared into the distance. It was now past time that their little hobbit went back home to the Shire where everything had started. After all this time, their quest was finally over and everyone now needed to go on with the new lives that awaited them.


	37. Epilogue

_**Dear all, before you read this epilogue, let me thank you with all my heart for all the support you have shown me ever since I started writing this story. It is thanks to you that I continued until the end and I really loved writing for you. It also made me realise how much I like writing and that's all thanks to you. You guys were the real heroes of this story :')  
I will soon post the alternate ending and will then go on with the suite of Luna's adventures. For those who stop here, I thank you again and hope you enjoyed reading this story at least as much as I enjoyed writing it. For the others who will read the suite, I will see you soon then :)  
... :') **_

* * *

**Epilogue **

_Back to the beginning ; 60 years later_

Bilbo finished writing the last phrase then set his feather down and with a deep sigh, closed his book. There it was at last. He had promised Ori long ago that he would write about his adventure and, although it had taken him sixty years, he had finally finished and he was proud of himself.  
He made a mental note to send a letter to the dwarf to let him know he was finally done then thought against it when he remembered that he had promised himself to leave this book to Frodo so that he could know what had really happened to him sixty years ago and learn the story of an extraordinary company of dwarves.

Bilbo absentmindedly looked at the papers on the table in front of him. The old map of the North showing the lonely mountain in its centre laid there among a messy piles of other parchments. Some were maps as well, others were papers written by the old hobbit himself.

He let out a deep sigh and took the old portray of Luna that he had carefully kept safe ever since that day Ori had given it to him when he had left the company to go back to the Shire.

Sixty years, he couldn't believe the quest that had forever changed his life had happened sixty years ago already. Many things had changed since then but not in the Shire. Things never changed in this place, and it was probably for the best.

Over the past decades, he had sometimes had the pleasure to find one or a couple of the dwarves at his door. Balin, especially, had visited him a few times to bring news of what was happening over there, beyond the misty mountains and Mirkwood.

Over the years, he had been kept informed of what was going on over there either by the dwarves' visits or by their letters.  
He had thus known how the dwarves had slowly traveled from the blue mountains to Erebor where they now seemed to live at peace. Dain turned out to be a great king and never had the relationship between the lonely mountain and the Iron Hills been so strong.

Oïn had been named chief healer of Erebor and was in charge of forming apprentices. Bombur was keeping a watching eye over the cooks and never did the dwarves lack of good food in the mountain.  
Bofur, although acknowledged by all as one of the finest warriors amongst his kin, enjoyed nothing better than to make toys and sing songs to the children and from what Bilbo heard, he never missed an occasion to tell the story of their quest.  
His brother Bifur had said his first word in the common tongue a few years after the end of their adventure but it seemed to be difficult for him to remember any other.  
Gloïn was one of the strongest warriors they knew, and along with Dwalin, they kept watch over Erebor and its people. The guard had never been established again. After the death of the last captain and the last heirs of Durin, no one had had the heart to form a new guard with a new line to protect. It didn't tough that the dwarves, and especially Dwalin and Gloïn, would completely forget their jobs and they were watching over Dis.  
The only thing that kept the princess in the mountain was that her brother and her sons were buried there, everyone knew it. Over the years, she had slowly become a bit better and was now taking part in the dwarves' everyday activities. Dain insisted on having her in his council and she was now an important part of it. There was no doubt that she would never truly be the same again and that her wound was too deep to ever be cured, but little by little, she had started living again and all looked up to her in respect.

With her and a few others, Balin had taken back his place of old councillor and was always advising the king with his usual wiseness. He was the one who most often wrote to Bilbo, along with Ori.  
The little scribe had been attributed the charge of the immense library of Erebor, a task that he seemed very fond of. His brother Nori was in charge of the finances of the mountain and never let a single coin slip out, and Dori was helping them both.

In Dale too things had changed. The men had decided to stay there and rebuild the city and for long now had Bilbo hoped to go and see it again. Bard had been named the new master by the men and had wonderfully managed to help them rebuild their lives here.  
Their contacts with Erebor were frequent and very friendly.

Although the elves and the dwarves would never completely get along, their long-time hatred with the elves of Mirkwood seemed to have diminished a little and trade had started again with the king Thranduil.  
The dwarves did not know that but I will tell you, reader ; after the battle of the five armies, Thranduil gave a second thought about the exile he had condemned Tauriel to and decided to welcome her again in their kingdom.

The red-headed elf thanked him for it but she couldn't bring herself right now to go back to Mirkwood, especially not without Legolas who had left as well and was roaming the North in search of a little boy that he ended up finding in Rivendell under the care of lord Elrond and who was destined to be one day the king of Gondor.  
Although she promised to return one day, so far she never did and no one ever knew what became of her.

For Bilbo too there had been some change. First, he had quickly understood that Gandalf had been right on the eve of their quest when he had told him that if he returned, he would never be the same hobbit again.  
Indeed, he was not. From the moment he had stepped back in Bag-End, he had been craving to go again. The other hobbits found him strange and sometimes said that he was mad. They didn't know where he had gone for over a year and where that gold rumours pretended he had came from. The occasional visits of dwarves did nothing to ease their suspicion but the hobbit couldn't care less.  
He had, a few years ago, adopted his young nephew, Frodo Baggins and couldn't help sometimes to hope he would be as good an uncle to him as Thorin had been to Fili and Kili.

He still had the ring he had found in Gollum's cave and had never told anyone about it. It was always kept safe in his pocket, just in case he needed it again.

In the last letter he had gotten a couple of years ago, Balin announced him Bard's death, after a long and great life. He had been buried with honours by his people and his son had succeeded him.  
He also told the hobbit that everything going good in Erebor and in the Iron Hills, the dwarves had decided to go and retake their lost kingdom of Moria, and he would be the one leading them there. From all the members of the company, only Ori was coming with him and he promised that he would write again soon to tell him how it went and beg him to come for a visit.

Bilbo had never gotten any more news since then, neither from Erebor nor from Moria but he wasn't worried : it had already happened that letters got lost in the long way to the Shire.

Today, on the eve of his one hundred and eleventh birthday, Bilbo knew that his time had come to go on his last journey. He was still extraordinary well for a hobbit his age, but he didn't want to take the risk to wait too long and finally not be able to make the trip anymore.  
He longed to see Erebor and his friends again, he wanted to go back to the tombs of Thorin, his nephews and their captain. _His_ captain, he thought with a little smile, never forgetting that she had made him a guard of Erebor. He longed to take the road again and everything was ready. Tomorrow at this hour, he would be gone.

He startled when he heard a knock on the door and rolled his eyes.

"No, thank you!" he exclaimed, expecting people to come and annoy him again. "We don't want any more visitors, well-wishers or distant relations!"

"And what about very old friends?" came a voice from outside the door.

Bilbo's eyes widened in shock then a huge smile appeared on his face. He set the portray of Luna aside and closed his book then hurriedly walked to the round door.

"Gandalf!" he exclaimed when the door opened on the wizard who was fondly looking at him.

"Bilbo Baggins"

"Dear Gandalf!"

The map showing the lonely mountain was still on the table next to the portray of the young girl and it felt at that precise moment as if they had suddenly gone back in time, sixty years ago, when by a beautiful day of Spring, the same wizard had unexpectedly come to take him in a life-changing adventure.

What he did not know however, and would never know, was that Gandalf's visit was only the beginning of a whole other journey that he had unknowingly started sixty years ago when he had picked up that ring in Gollum's cave.

But that, dear readers, is a whole other story that will one day find its place in Bilbo's book as well, when Frodo will relate his own great journey, but for us, it is time to take our leave and we shall part here, at the end of this quite unexpected adventure.

**_ The End _**


	38. Alternate ending : Beyond memory

_**And here is the alternate ending to the story that will lead to another one that I will start soon :) Thanks for you continual support! I will see you soon ;)**_

* * *

**Alternate ending : Beyond memory**

_After another couple of seconds, both probably felt that the time had come because they opened their eyes again at the same time and shared a long glance that silently spoke all the things they didn't have neither the strength nor the time to say anymore. _

_"Are you afraid?" Luna murmured._

_Kili squeezed her hand that he was still holding against his chest. _

_"As long as I'm with you, I know it'll be okay" he whispered. _

_She nodded and forced herself to keep her eyes open just a little bit more and push the darkness away. _

_"Together?" he asked in so low a voice even she barely heard it. _

_"Together" she whispered._

* * *

_**3 months later**_

A blur. A big, enormous, deep blur, that's all there was. Her thoughts were so confused and her body feeling so numb that it took her a long while to realise that she was waking up.

Waking up from what exactly, she did not know.

First, she could feel nothing, then slowly she understood that she was laying on something soft, probably a bed. She was covered in thick, soft blankets to keep her warm and little by little, sensations came back in her body.

First, it was her neck, then her arms until her finger tips and then her left leg. Although she could not feel her right leg yet, probably because it was sill numb, and that a little pain awakened in her shoulder, she was reassured. If she could feel something, it meant that she was still alive.

It took Luna a couple more minutes to finally open her eyes. Her vision was a bit blurry at first then when it focused, she found herself staring at a bright ceiling.

"You're awake"

She snapped her head in the direction of the voice, startled and the move caused the pain in her shoulder to flash through her whole arm and another pain awakened in her chest. She groaned.

"Stay still. You fear nothing here"

"Gandalf…" she whispered when she saw the wizard looking at her from an armchair next to her bed.

She raised herself on her valid arm as much as she could to look around her. She was in a beautiful room that had nothing to do with Erebor. The room was opening on a large balcony and she could see that they were in a place surrounded by mountains.

"Where are we?" she asked in a weak voice.

"Rivendell"

She raised an eyebrow.

"Rivendell…" she repeated in a murmur, feeling sleep creeping back to her.

"You need to rest, Luna. You are gravely wounded. Sleep" Gandalf sighed.

She didn't know why but something wasn't right and she couldn't explain it. She wished she had been able to think properly but she wasn't and before she knew it, she was unconscious again.

* * *

When Luna came around again, this time there was no one in the room and from the light that came through the balcony opening, she guessed the day was ending, whichever day it was.

She was already feeling better. Of course, she knew she was still too weak to even think about getting out of bed but she could at least think a bit more clearly and the pain in her shoulder had almost stopped.

She didn't know why Gandalf had said she was gravely wounded, she was weak that was true but she wasn't feeling that bad.

The door opened and the wizard came in, followed by another person.

"Welcome back, daughter of Laïn" he greeted her.

"Lord Elrond…" she whispered.

"How do you feel?" Gandalf asked.

"Just…tired…and weak…"

The wizard nodded and she carefully raised herself on her elbows again.

"What happened?" she asked, decided this time to get explanations.

Elrond and Gandalf exchanged a quick look that she couldn't quite read but the bad feeling she had had previously came back.

"Gandalf…what happened? Why are we here?" she insisted in a firmer voice.

The wizard let out a deep sigh and sat on the armchair.

"What is the last thing you remember?" he asked her.

She searched her memory for a couple of seconds. The quest, Erebor, the battle then…

"Kili…" she whispered to herself then her eyes shot to her two care-takers. "Where is he? Where is everyone?"

Gandalf bit his lip at the hint of panic in her voice.

"What do you remember?" Elrond repeated the question.

"I remember the battle in front of the gates of Erebor. Then, Thorin, Dwalin, Fili, Kili and I went up to Ravenhill to find Azog then…Thorin sent us to scout the abandoned watch towers. I wanted us to stay together but Fili insisted and we all went separate ways then…oh Mahal…he…Fili…"

Gandalf gravely nodded.

"Azog killed him. Then Kili went after the orcs to avenge him and Thorin followed him, then you went too" he went on. "Then what?"

"Then…I ran to the tower where Kili had gone…I killed a couple of orcs until Bolg arrived. We fought, but he was so strong, it felt like everything I tried did nothing to him…then he smashed my leg with his mace and I couldn't move but Kili arrived. I…I told him to go but he wouldn't listen. Then…oh God, Azog was above him, ready to pierce him with his blade so I put myself between them and took the blow"

As she was talking, everything was becoming clearer and clearer. She now remembered where the pain in her shoulder and in her chest came from.

"Then…I thought I would die…I couldn't move anymore, Bolg was about to kill Kili and I shot my last dagger at him and finally managed to kill him but it was too late, he had hurt Kili. Then…then I was with him, we were dying on that platform. We saw the eagles and we…"

Tears dwelled up in her eyes as she remembered their unofficial wedding but she said nothing about that.

"Then I thought we would die…I felt my last strengths abandon me and that was it"

There was a little silence after her tale and Elrond and Gandalf exchanged a grave look again.

"Where is he? I want to see him" she said.

They didn't answer and she started to be a bit angry.

"Tell me where he is. And what happened? Why are we here?!"

"Luna, dear…" Gandalf started, reaching for her hand. "I will tell you all about it if you promise to stay calm and listen to me until the end"

She shot him a nervous look and flashed a glance at Elrond as well but the elf just nodded.

"I am listening" she said.

The wizard sighed.

"When you lost consciousness on that platform, you thought you'd die, but you didn't. You were severely wounded, that was true, and on the very edge of life but you weren't dead. Haleth arrived, he had been desperately looking everywhere to find you and fortunately when he did, it wasn't too late. He used his skills to stabilise you and, knowing that neither the dwarfish medicine or the men would be enough to save you, he brought you here where the lord Elrond could take care of you"

"What?!" she exclaimed and he squeezed her hand.

"Listen to me. He never rested during the trip and in only a couple of weeks, brought you here"

"It is a miracle that you survived the journey in the state you were in" Elrond added. "I thought that even my medicine wouldn't be enough to help you. You have now been here for almost two months"

"Two months?! But…how long since the battle?"

"Three months"

"And the others? How did they agree to this? Why aren't they here too?"

"They…don't know" Gandalf hesitantly said.

Her heart tightened a little.

"What do you mean? Kili must have been asking for me, he wouldn't just let me disappear like that!"

"Luna…when you two lost consciousness on the platform, you did not die but…he did"

There was a silence after that. Her glance passed from one to the other in shock as if she was waiting for one of them to tell her it was a joke or for Kili to arrive in the doorframe, grinning at her.

"You're lying" she said after a while in a shaky voice.

"I wish I was" Gandalf sadly shook his head.

"No!" she suddenly exclaimed. "It can't be true! It's wrong! He is still in Erebor, he is fine and I need to go back to him! The others…Thorin…"

"Luna" Elrond interrupted her, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Thorin…did not survive either. The line of Durin has ended"

"No!" she shouted, not even aware of the tears streaming down on her face. "They're alive, I need to get there!"

She pushed his hands away and, ignoring the pain, she sat up and pulled the blankets away from her to get up but she suddenly froze when she did so and that her eyes landed on her right leg.

Or, more precisely, on what _remained_ of it.

More tears silently streamed down on her face as she stared in absolute shock at her leg that had been amputated up to her knee. She knew now why she hadn't been able to feel it ; there hadn't been anything to feel anymore, it was gone.

"Bolg's mace had caused too much damage" Elrond apologetically said. "It was beyond the point of saving"

"The others" she gasped. "Where are they?"

"In Erebor. The dwarves from the blue mountains have started to settle back in the kingdom you reclaimed"

"Don't they know I am here?"

Gandalf shook his head.

"The last thing they know is what Dwalin told them : you went after Kili and then, no one ever saw you again. They found Kili's body with all around him, evident signs that you had been there as well, and gravely wounded, but what happened to you next, they don't know. They have looked for you for a long time, and then supposed that the orcs had taken you. There is a stone with your name carved on it next to Thorin, Fili and Kili's tombs. Even I did not know what had become of you until I came here on the way back to the Shire with Bilbo"

"And I suppose he doesn't know either?"

He shook his head. Her voice had now become way too calm again, as if she did not believe a word of what was being said, or as if she thought it was all a very bad dream from which she was about to wake up in her lovers' arms.

"Would you care to tell me why you kept me here without letting my kin know I was alive?"

"Because your story is not over yet. The quest for Erebor has ended, yes, but Elrond had a vision of another, much more important one in which he saw you. That is why he sent Haleth to get you. You couldn't die in the battle"

"Of course" she muttered with a little smile.

She swung her legs over the edge of the bed as if to get up.

"What are you doing?" Elrond asked, frowning.

"Kili needs me. I am going back to Erebor"

He shared a concerned look with Gandalf.

"Luna, Kili is dead. He died three months ago"

"No he didn't. He is alive and waiting for me. He lost his brother, I should be with him now"

"Luna…"

"Stop it!" she suddenly shouted. "He isn't dead, do you hear me?! He can't die! Not without me! I am their captain, I can't outlive them!"

At that moment, a third person suddenly came in and there was a little silence during which Luna stared at the new incomer, Haleth, without saying anything. Then, all of a sudden, she exploded.

"YOU!" she yelled, breaking down into tears.

She tried to stand up and walk forward but with only one leg, lost her balance and Elrond caught her just in time. She struggled against his grip and he had to hold her firmly to keep her from moving.

"Luna…" Haleth started.

"WHY DID YOU DO THAT?! I SHOULD HAVE DIED, I WAS READY TO DIE! I WAS WITH HIM!"

"Please, you…"

"DON'T EVEN TALK TO ME YOU MONSTER! HOW DARE YOU CALL YOURSELF MY FRIEND?! I SHOULD HAVE DIED, I SHOULD HAVE…I…"

Then all of a sudden, all that had happened seemed to much for the young girl and she collapsed in Elrond's arms.

Haleth looked with a pinch to the heart as his lord carefully put the young girl back to bed. It had taken all his strengths to take her from Kili's arms and separate them when he had found them but he knew he had to bring her back to Rivendell. Her role in the story of Middle-Earth wasn't over yet.

"Will she be alright?" he asked in a low voice.

"I don't know" Gandalf sighed. "She will have to be"

"One should never underestimate the dwarves' extraordinary ability to love" Elrond pensively said.

"You do know that the others in Erebor think she is dead, don't you?" Haleth asked. "I don't understand, we had to bring her here to heal her but why couldn't we let them know that she was safe with us?"

"From now on, she needs to stay here until we know what the vision I had meant" Elrond shook his head. "I saw her future. It is still uncertain, but it exists, and sadly, it isn't amongst dwarves anymore. The line of Durin has fallen and, as it has always been written, the line of the captains fell at the same time. There is no more sons of Durin and no more captains to watch over them. Her time in Erebor is over"

* * *

Gandalf was there once again with Elrond when Luna woke up the third time. As soon as she opened her eyes, they both tensed and shared a concerned look before anxiously looking at her. They hoped she wouldn't try and get up again. Gandalf bit his lips when she looked around her and that her eyes landed on him. He opened his mouth to tell her he was sorry and that they would be here to help her but the look of confusion on her face as her eyes passed from him to Elrond surprised him.

"Luna?" he called.

She frowned and looked even more confused.

"Where am I?" she asked in a weak voice.

Elrond and Gandalf shared a worried look again and the elf raised an eyebrow.

"In Rivendell, don't you remember?"

She slowly shook her head. Her confusion seemed so great that Gandalf gently reached to squeeze her hand. When he did so tough, she suddenly took her hand away and looked at him with a hint of fear in her eyes.

"Luna…"

"Who are you?" she muttered.


End file.
